Return to Articles
9.01.2025
Let’s Talk about Early Childhood Educators in Nevada
By Kate Pflughoeft, PhD; Nevada Department of Education, Office of Early Learning and Development, Preschool Development Grant Birth-5.
When you drop your child off with their teachers before heading to work, how do you think of their role in your child’s life? Do the words educator or expert caregiver come to mind? Let’s consider who the critical population of Early Childhood Educators includes and what role they play in our children’s development.
When we discuss Early Childhood Education (ECE), the conversation is around our youngest learners, kids in the age range of 0-8 years of age. Yes, that is right. When you drop your 3-month-old off at a quality early childhood education program, they spend their day with teachers who are there to help your child learn and develop the social skills and foundations that they will need to succeed when they are 7, 12, or 19.
In a recent survey of Early Childhood Educators in Nevada, we asked what they wanted people to know about ECE and if they are satisfied and feel valued in their positions.
To start, Early Educators want you to know that they are more than babysitters, they are educators. One educator from Reno put it this way:
“The impact of quality early child education matters. As we all know brain development in children in the early years ages 0-5 is a big part of who they are developmentally/socially/emotionally in later years. As early educators we need to understand that ‘words matter’ and that we are not babysitters, but educators.”
An educator from Battle Mountain wants you to know that play is a developmentally appropriate method of learning for young kids:
“I wish others understood we are not just playing with children. We are creating learning environments and teaching while playing with children. To teach "on the fly" can be challenging. One must know the standards and where each child is at developmentally in order to meet the child at their level and scaffold their learning. Learning through play means you can't work off a lesson plan. The children lead their learning, therefore the day changes minute by minute.”
A third educator from Nevada put it this way when considering the needs of her students and their families:
“Children learn more in their first 5 years than any other time in their lives- ECE is essential for developing generations to thrive. Families need assistance, support and guidance. Our job encompasses all of this and more. What an amazing opportunity!”
As parents, the idea that our educators have the knowledge to keep our children safe and know what is developmentally appropriate can often be taken for granted. We are our children’s first teachers, but we can’t always be there.
We can rely on and trust the experience and knowledge of our children’s teachers. They are professionals and are there to support both children and parents. ECE teachers and directors know that families are struggling.
They can offer advice on educational practices and assure us that many of our children’s quirks are indeed not that unusual. They know that we need flexible schedules and more subsidies to pay for quality care.
As parents we need to remember that teachers are struggling as well. In Nevada the average pay for ECE teachers (not including K-grade 3 educators) is under $18 dollars an hour and the majority do not have employer-based benefits programs. Many early educators expressed that it is not easy work, but it is rewarding. Your children’s smiles are one thing that keeps them in their profession.
Raising smart well-adjusted children is often a team effort, and your children’s teachers are there with you. It is important to communicate with your teachers, ask what some developmentally appropriate activities are. Let them know that you are there with them. Let them know that you see them as teachers, not babysitters.
