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Save the Career and Wage Ladder in the State Budget!
As child care and early learning professionals, we believe the Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder, a nationally-recognized model, is a critical component to a quality child care system.
The most important component of high quality child care is the quality and consistency of the provider. The Ladder gets to the root of this by encouraging teachers to increase their own education and stay in the field. Research from WSU and anecdotes from the field show this to be true.
Governor Gregoire's budget cuts funding for the Ladder. This is not the time to undermine our children by cutting programs clearly proven to improve the quality of their early learning and care experience, especially now that our nation is in crisis.
It is critical in this time of stress to continue to support programs that promote stability for young children and their families. Please contact your legislators and ask them to maintain the funding for the Career and Wage Ladder. It's the right thing to do.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Please don't cut the Career and Wage Ladder
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
The governor has eliminated funding for the research-proven, successful Career and Wage Ladder for early learning professionals. The most important component of high-quality child care is the quality and consistency of the provider. The Ladder gets to the root of this by encouraging teachers to increase their own education and stay in the field. Research from WSU and anecdotes from the field show this to be true.
All children benefit when their teachers have access to professional training and adequate compensation for their important work. Providing quality care in early learning is important for the future of this state in terms of our economy and raising our future citizens. Seventy child care centers across the state -- 7,000 children and 1,000 professionals -- will lose the critical support they need in order to stay in the early education field if the Career and Wage Ladder is cut from the 2009-11 state budget.
I urge you to restore funding for the Career and Wage Ladder in the state budget.
Sincerely,
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