![]() “There’s a saying that when you make plans, God is laughing. Now we professionals need to claim our power and be at the table when policies are being made.”Īlina Buzamat, Educator: An unexpected career shift brings her to early childhood education So many professionals have given their lives to this work already. She’s hoping that increased awareness of the importance of early childhood education since the pandemic represents a similar turning point for the field. So much needed to be done.” So, she switched her master’s concentration from school administration to early childhood education. “But I realized I had to start the work with the younger ones. When she first moved here from Turkey to earn her master’s degree, she taught middle and high school students. She knows first-hand the importance of the work. In the past two years, I’ve added a fourth hat: nurse practitioner,” Artis says. “Before the pandemic, I used to say, as a school leader, I wore three hats of leadership: pastor, general and ambassador. While there are shared services for ECE programs with 50 or less children, they are not sufficient. She would like to see the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) better support the field by facilitating shared services in areas from health care and human resources to legal advice. “They’ve been part of the school for almost 20 years and are key to what we do,” she says. It has a curriculum consultant with more than 40 years of experience and three childhood development consultants who specialize in occupational therapy, special education, and speech pathology. For instance, Artis’s school offers weekly professional development for staff. There also needs to be a common understanding about what best practice looks like in the classroom, no matter which ward the ECE program is located in. The public needs to be informed and recognize the importance of early years for all children, our society and the world at large, and the professionals doing this incredible work,” she says. “There’s a real science to what we’re doing. ![]() First and foremost, the field needs “to get on the same page” in defining the profession. Going forward, Artis has several priorities. “The system just doesn’t work,” Artis concludes. We’re serving the same kids, just in different settings,” she says. “We at least need to get on par with our colleagues in DCPS. She says the pandemic exacerbated these inequities at the beginning of the pandemic, while early childhood programs were deemed essential, her counterparts in DCPS received priority for the vaccinations and antigen tests, plus were allowed to have up to 12 children per classroom, while centers were limited to eight. We close two weeks during the winter break, plus only one week at the end of the summer, which is our work week to prepare for the new school year,” Artis says. The field’s low status has real-life consequences, mainly low pay, especially compared to DC Public Schools (DCPS) staff, who earn more and receive much more generous benefits. “Kindness and empathy are always at the core as well as respecting children as little human beings,” Artis says. As a Quaker preschool, much of the programming focuses on diversity, equity and social justice. ![]() Her school serves 70 children, ages 12 months to five years. We all are early childhood educators, not day care workers.” ![]() You shouldn’t have to work only with older children to be considered a teacher. “We choose to work with very young children. They don’t realize how damaging this language is,” Artis says. “I’ve been in this field for 22 years, 16 as the head of school, and it’s harmful and disappointing that policymakers, the media and even some people in the field have this day care mentality about the work. She points out that several of her colleagues in the WeVision EarlyEd project have master’s degrees, many have bachelor’s degrees, and others have associate degrees or child development associate (CDA) credentials - or are working toward them. But what upsets her most is that she and her colleagues are not treated as professional educators. Much of D.C.’s current early child education system frustrates Berna Artis, who leads the School for Friends preschool near Dupont Circle in Northwest D.C. Berna Artis, Administrator: Treat us like professionals, because we are
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