Op-Ed: Vermont’s child care future relies on early childhood educators

February 2, 2026  |  By Jen Olson

I’m a career early childhood educator. Every day, I help young children learn and grow while supporting families with reliable care. 

The quality of my teaching is built on my education and strengthened by my work with young children and colleagues. When early childhood educators are qualified, supported, and fairly compensated, children thrive, parents can work and build stability, and communities grow stronger. 

Vermont is closer than ever to making this vision a reality. Recent investments that make child care easier to access and afford are helping families. Now it’s time to make sure that early childhood educators receive the professional recognition they deserve.

I’m a parent too, and despite working in this field, I couldn’t find infant care for my own son. He spent three years on waitlists, and I worked part-time. When we finally got into a great program, I watched him flourish as part of a learning community. I was able to return to work full-time and felt the security of knowing my child was safe, supported, and learning. 

Recent public investments in Vermont’s early childhood system have opened new programs, expanded tuition assistance, and increased the supply of child care. According to First Children’s Finance, the child care supply and demand gap shrank between 2024 and 2026 for all children 0-5, driven in part by demographic shifts that reduced the number of young children in Vermont, and 12 of Vermont’s 14 counties added infant care spots. 

Vermont now meets the needs of approximately 40% of infants, 70% of toddlers, and 69% of preschoolers likely to require full-time care. These numbers show real progress over two years — but we still have gaps to close, especially for infants.

So how do we get there? We need to protect the child care funding that’s already working and strengthen our early childhood educator workforce, so people like me can help every Vermont child get a strong start.

Quality care means early childhood educators make a difference every single day. When families come to us, we don’t always know what we’ll learn about their child — or ourselves — but we do everything we can to do right by them. Our expertise shapes children’s development, learning, and long-term outcomes. Here are some examples from my 20-year career: 

• I’ve helped children learn to identify their feelings and confidently ask for what they need. 

• I’ve helped a class of 3-year-olds learn sign language to communicate with a peer.

• I’ve worked closely with families to support children through major life transitions.

• I’ve listened as a child recounted a domestic violence encounter to a police officer, knowing he felt safe because his teacher was there.

• I’ve helped children feel secure when their bodies and brains were responding to trauma.

Teachers don’t stop doing what children need when resources fall short. They adapt. They find another way. Their resilience and creativity mirror that of the children they serve — but for too long, low wages and unclear career pathways have driven too many out of early childhood education. For years, I saw qualified early childhood educators leave for better-paying jobs, classrooms go understaffed, programs close, and children miss essential early learning opportunities. Every teacher who leaves the field is a heartbreaking loss for children, families, and communities.

Vermont has invested in growing our child care system, which relies on early childhood educators. To grow our early childhood educator workforce, we need a system that helps us build stable, lasting careers.

The Early Childhood Educator Profession Bill (S.206) provides that system. It gives educators the support they need to earn qualifications, and connects those qualifications to accountability and compensation. It validates the knowledge, skill, and dedication we bring to our work every day. For families, it means clarity and confidence that the people caring for their children are qualified, accountable, supported — and more likely to stay at their program. 

Vermont’s investments in child care mean that our families, employers, and child care programs are feeling some relief. Vermont has reversed the trend, and few states can say the same. These are real and hard-won gains — but our progress will only last if we continue investing in the people who make it possible.

Child care doesn’t work without early childhood educators. A system to retain, recruit, and recognize early childhood educators is not just good policy, it’s a commitment to the kind of future we want for Vermont’s children.

An early childhood educator with more than 17 years of experience, Jennifer Olson of Hinesburg is a Co-Teaching Director at Quarry Hill School in Middlebury. She has served on the task force working to advance early childhood education as a profession in Vermont.