Advancing Early Education Collaborative

In the District of Columbia, most early childcare educators are Black and Latina women and only one-fifth of all early childhood educators in the District have a bachelor’s degree. Educators with bachelor’s degrees have more access to promotions, and the overall average hourly wage for educators with a degree is higher than wages for educators without a degree. With JPMorgan Chase’s $5 million three-year commitment, Martha’s Table, LIFT-DC, Youth Invest Partners, American University, Trinity Washington University, and the Urban Institute launched the Advancing Early Education Collaborative—a partnership to increase access to education, skills, and training opportunities, as well as wealth building and capacity building for early childhood educators and the centers that employ them.

The Advancing Early Education Collaborative will:

• Expand access to postsecondary education through fully funded scholarships and certification opportunities;
• Provide services such as education and financial coaching, technology access, professional development, stipends for childcare and transportation, access to children’s clothing and professional attire, and access to healthy groceries for participants;
• Support early education providers by coordinating and centralizing costs such as information technology, billing services, human resources, professional development, healthcare and retirement benefits for staff.