A few early childcare centers in New Mexico will close, at least temporarily, on Monday morning to highlight that early childcare is an important part of the American economy and that early childcare workers need to be better compensated.
Leila Salim, a spokesperson for the grassroots organization OLÉ, told NM Political Report that the event is being coordinated with parents to minimize the disruption. She said that the New Mexico event is part of a national demonstration intended to show how important early childcare is and what some of the issues are around the work.
“It’s meant to show that early childcare is the backbone of our economy. No other work can take place without childcare. Everyone needs that support. The true cost of early childcare is one of the main points of the event,” Salim said.
She said one early childcare center in Albuquerque, Gallup and Las Cruces will close for a few hours, in coordination with the parents of the children, on Monday, to emphasize how important early childcare is for the workforce. Salim said that despite the effort and advances made by the state in recent years to improve early childcare education, there are gaps that impact the workers and the children.
She said most early childcare workers are women of color and many are immigrants. She said that, as a result of bias and prejudice, it is a job that has not been valued.
“A lot are working for minimum wage, including some who have higher education and those who have been there for a long time. There’s a high turnover because of the low wages. We’re arguing it’s an issue for the children,” Salim said.
She said the children need a stable workforce and that high turnover of staff is hard on the kids.
Salim said the Early Childhood Education and Care Department is focused on rewarding teachers who receive an education in early childcare and that the department overlooks the value of long job experience. Going back to school to earn degrees while working full-time and, in many cases, raising a family of their own is a high hurdle, she said.
Due to a miscommunication error, ECECD was not able to respond in time to comment.
“There are lots of great reasons why experience is important when compared to book education for teachers. They learn most of their skills on the job. When it comes to taking care of their children, a lot of things you learn from doing it, from serving the kids,” Salim said.
