WHEREAS, North Carolina’s high-quality early care and learning network helps families raise healthy, capable children, allows parents to work and businesses to hire and retain the employees they need, and builds a stronger North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, at the center of that network are thousands of early childhood educators with a deep commitment to the healthy development of young children and the strength of the families and communities they serve; and
WHEREAS, the average wage for these valuable front-line professionals who have risked their health to provide education and care during the COVID-19 pandemic, is just $12 per hour, often without benefits such as health insurance and paid sick leave; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina disbursed $300 million of federal emergency relief funds to help sustain the state’s early care and learning network, helping families, teachers, and programs stay resilient during the COVID-19 crisis; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina dedicated $806 million in federal funding to Child Care Stabilization Grants to help North Carolina’s early care and learning programs with recruitment and retention, enabling them to provide better wages and benefits to teachers, increased access to high-quality, affordable child care to parents, and improved equity for all; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina understands the decades of research that demonstrate investments in high-quality early learning and development opportunities produce significant beneficial outcomes in education, health, and economic well-being, and this requires a strong early childhood educator workforce; and
WHEREAS, the NC Department of Health and Human Services Division of Child Development and Early Education, the NC Child Care Resource and Referral Council, Child Care Aware® of America and other state and national organizations join together in recognizing and appreciating Early Childhood Educators on this day;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 6, 2022, as “EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR APPRECIATION DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.