“I have always felt that we do not give an honorable enough place in our communities to teachers,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote on January 14, 1953. “Next to parents, they are the most important people in our communities. It is quite impossible to give teachers monetary compensation that will repay their devotion to the job and the love that must go to each and every child. But I think we could compensate a little more adequately the teachers in our communities if we were conscious of their importance,” Roosevelt pointed out in her popular newspaper column, My Day.
The former first lady reached millions of readers between 1935 and 1962 as she expressed her views on social and political issues, current and historical events, as well as her private and public life. And in that column from January 14, 1953, Roosevelt called attention to the role teachers play in building the future of our nation. “It is in the classroom that our children get their best lessons in democracy, and the men and women teaching our children must remember that school experience is just a preparation for the wider experience of life and citizenship in a democracy.” And “one way to encourage teachers is to do them honor on National Teachers Day,”—an occasion Roosevelt did much to bring about.
She took her cause to Congress in 1953 and convinced it to pass a joint resolution making the first Tuesday of every March National Teachers Day. Still, it took 27 years longer for it to become an official national day. That wouldn’t take place until 1980, when the National Education Association joined with the Kansas and Indiana State Boards of Education and lobbied to have the day recognized nationwide on March 7. Then, in 1984, the PTA successfully lobbied to move the holiday to May and expanded it to encompass an entire week. Eleanor Roosevelt’s idea for honoring teachers became Teacher Appreciation Week.
This month, it was again that time of year when teachers receive flowers, cards, emails, muffins and mugs as thanks for their work. But teachers still don’t feel valued and often speak grimly about the roadblocks they face. Novice teachers fear that they are drowning as they try to lead their classrooms with little support from other teachers. Seasoned teachers feel isolated from colleagues in the one teacher, one classroom model or feel that the principal of their school is not helping them to continue growing their skills. And many of these veteran teachers take jobs in administration because it’s the only real avenue for career advancement.
It’s no wonder that we struggle to staff schools with the diverse and talented teachers that young people need. For more than a decade, fewer people have been pursuing teaching careers, and 20 percent or more of new teachers leave the profession within five years. Now children who are old enough to go to primary school are entering just as teacher flight reaches its peak after years of declining working conditions and worsening compensation.
Take the case of Wisconsin, for example. Between 2010 and 2021, the inflation-adjusted median salary of the state’s K-12 teachers fell by about $6,000 and fringe benefits fell by nearly $8,500. Meanwhile, insurance co-pays and deductibles shot up, as attendees heard at a recent meeting of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. And there’s a disconnect between these figures and a well-researched fact. Having a great teacher is the single greatest factor in student success. So, teachers deserve more than just our thanks one week of the year, said Dan Rossmiller, the government relations director of the association. “They also deserve respect and to be treated as the professionals they are.”
The best way to show we appreciate teachers is to invest in them and make sure they have the resources and tools they need to be successful. And that’s especially true for our early childhood teachers since what they do directly affects children’s future learning outcomes and lifelong success. Yet wages for early childhood teachers lag far behind those of their K-8 peers, a gap that deepens inequities, too. Black and Latina women, who make up a large part of the early childhood field, have poverty rates that are about 7.7 times higher than other teachers. Meanwhile, they’re overworked and stressed out, wearing too many hats and leaving the early childhood profession at rates never seen before.
It’s time for us to do more than talk about how much we love our early childhood teachers and heed Roosevelt’s call to action. I’ve worked hard as Council CEO to raise our educators up, and I’m glad to see that some state and local governments are taking up the cause, too. Last year, Minnesota signed into law the Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program, which provides $316 million this year and $260 million every two years that ensue to directly boost early childhood teachers’ pay. Recently, the Early Educator Investment Collaborative, a group of high-profile foundations, awarded $9 million in grants for state and local partnerships in Colorado, Louisiana and Washington, DC. The grants will support public systems innovations to increase and sustain benefits and compensation for the early childhood workforce.
And in Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is also taking steps to grapple with the child care shortage. A new $3 million program will provide bonuses of $1,500 for assistant teachers and $2,000 for lead teachers who stay on their jobs for the upcoming school year. In addition, the city will provide teachers with stipends to attend summer training on how to support children facing trauma and mental health issues, Parker said at the Citywide Play Date where she announced the bonus program. “As mayor and a working mother,” she explained, “I know very well that improving and investing in pre-K education is critical to ensuring our children have high-quality support, so they are prepared for kindergarten, elementary school and beyond.”
No matter what path a young person takes, we should ensure that no doors are closed to them in the future, as Khalid N. Mumin, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, pointed out this month. “So, consider asking your lawmaker to support a budget that invests in education, from pre-K to secondary,” he said. “That’s the gift that will keep giving for generations to come.” No doubt, it has a positive impact that lasts beyond the first years of a person’s life and even affects their children, as lots of solid research has shown.
When children receive quality early learning, they’re not the only ones who come out ahead. We all benefit, too, as Eleanor Roosevelt pointed out in her My Day column some decades ago. “Children are future citizens, and if they are neglected in these early years, it will hurt not only the children themselves but the community as a whole. Many communities can carry the expense of such organization for children’s centers without state or federal help, but where state help is needed, it should be given. And when states are incapable of giving sufficient help, it should be forthcoming on a national scale.”
And this message from My Day continued to ring true this month as we marked Teacher Appreciation Week, the holiday Roosevelt sparked in 1953. Now, as then, giving teachers coffee mugs and muffins is nice, but it’s no way to show how much we value the important work they do. So, like Roosevelt, I’m doing my best to speak out on behalf of our teachers. It’s time for us to get out and make people realize that teachers serve the public good. We need to give our teachers what they want: the respect, raises and room for professional growth that will really make their day.
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Vice President of Strategic Alliances
Elisa Shepherd is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances at the Council, where she leads initiatives to advance the Council’s mission and strategic plan through designing, managing, and executing a comprehensive stakeholder relationship strategy.
With over 25 years of experience in early childhood education (ECE), Elisa has dedicated her career to developing impactful programs, professional development opportunities, and public policies that support working families, young children, and ECE staff. Before joining the Council, Elisa held numerous roles within the childcare industry. Most recently, she served as Associate Vice President at The Learning Experience and as Senior Manager at KinderCare Education, where she influenced government affairs and public policies across 40 states.
Elisa’s commitment to leadership is reflected in her external roles on the Early Care and Education Consortium Board of Directors, the Florida Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees, and as the DEI Caucus Leader for KinderCare Education. She has been recognized as an Emerging Leader in Early Childhood by Childcare Exchange’s Leadership Initiative.
Elisa earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on child development from Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA.
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Andrew Davis serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Council. In this role, Andrew oversees the Programs Division, which includes the following operational functions: credentialing, growth and business development, marketing and communications, public policy and advocacy, research, innovation, and customer relations.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience in the early care and education field. Most recently, Andrew served as Senior Vice President of Partnership and Engagement with Acelero Learning and Shine Early Learning, where he led the expansion of state and community-based partnerships to produce more equitable systems of service delivery, improved programmatic quality, and greater outcomes for communities, children and families. Prior to that, he served as Director of Early Learning at Follett School Solutions.
Andrew earned his MBA from the University of Baltimore and Towson University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland – University College.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Jan Bigelow serves as Chief Financial Officer at the Council and has been with the organization since February of 2022.
Jan has more than 30 years in accounting and finance experience, including public accounting, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. She has held management-level positions with BDO Seidman, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Pew Center for Global Climate Change, Communities In Schools, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and American Humane. Since 2003, Jan has worked exclusively in the non-profit sector where she has been a passionate advocate in improving business operations in order to further the mission of her employers.
Jan holds a CPA from the State of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College. She resides in Alexandria VA with her husband and dog.
Vice President of People and Culture
Janie Payne is the Vice President of People and Culture for the Council for Professional Recognition. Janie is responsible for envisioning, developing, and executing initiatives that strategically manage talent and culture to align people strategies with the overarching business vision of the Council. Janie is responsible for driving organizational excellence through strategic talent practices, orchestrating workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance management as well as a myriad of other Human Resources Programs. She is accountable for driving effectiveness by shaping organizational structure for optimal efficiency. Janie oversees strategies that foster a healthy culture to include embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the organization.
In Janie’s prior role, she was the Vice President of Administration at Equal Justice Works, where she was responsible for leading human resources, financial operations, facilities management, and information technology. She was also accountable for developing and implementing Equal Justice Works Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy focused on attracting diverse, mission-oriented talent and creating an inclusive and equitable workplace environment. With more than fifteen years of private, federal, and not-for-profit experience, Janie is known for her intuitive skill in administration management, human resources management, designing and leading complex system change, diversity and inclusion, and social justice reform efforts.
Before joining Equal Justice Works, Janie was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Communities, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and management of integrated HR and diversity strategies. Her work impacted employees in over twenty-two countries. She was responsible for the effective management of different cultural, legal, regulatory, and economic systems for both domestic and international employees. Prior to Global Communities, Janie enjoyed a ten-year career with the federal government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she held key strategic human resources positions with multiple cabinet-level agencies and served as an advisor and senior coach to leaders across the federal sector. In these roles, she received recognition from management, industry publications, peers, and staff for driving the creation and execution of programs that created an engaged and productive workforce.
Janie began her career with Verizon Communications (formerly Bell Atlantic), where she held numerous roles of increasing responsibility, where she directed a diversity program that resulted in significant improvement in diversity profile measures. Janie was also a faculty member for the company’s Black Managers Workshop, a training program designed to provide managers of color with the skills needed to overcome barriers to their success that were encountered because of race. She initiated a company-wide effort to establish team-based systems and structures to impact corporate bottom line results which was recognized by the Department of Labor. Janie was one of the first African American women to be featured on the cover of Human Resources Executive magazine.
Janie received her M.A. in Organization Development from American University. She holds numerous professional development certificates in Human Capital Management and Change Management, including a Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources certificate from Cornell University. She completed the year-long Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by The Schaefer Center for Public Policy and The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. She is a trained mediator and Certified Professional Coach. She is a graduate of Leadership America, former board chair of the NTL Institute and currently co-steward of the organization’s social justice community of practice, and a member of The Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Janie is the Board Chairperson for the Special Education Citizens Advisory Council for Prince Georges County where she is active in developing partnerships that facilitate discussion between parents, families, educators, community leaders, and the PG County school administration to enhance services for students with disabilities which is her passion. She and her husband Randolph reside in Fort Washington Maryland.
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