
"I stand with all of you advocating for our state's most vulnerable children, and at the same time advocating for the dedicated and talented people who have a responsibility to care for and educate them," said R2LP Director Leslie Gell at the annual RI Kids Count Breakfast on April 8.
Leslie was one of two members from the community to receive special recognition at the breakfast, which was attended by nearly 500 people, including all of our state officials.
"There is a serious mismatch between our expectations of the average early childhood educator and compensation," Leslie noted. "A report issued last year by the Government Accountability Office documents that over 60 percent of full-time early childhood workers earned less than $22,000 in 2009. That's the federal poverty line for a family of four.
"Digging deeper, the report found that family child-care providers averaged $11,500, while preschool teachers outside of public school classrooms earned $18,000 on average. This is one of our greatest challenges."