‘We can’t out-pay Walmart:’ How low pay is decimating Head Start
David Elliot,
July 1, 2022
Low pay and stressful work conditions are causing Head Start providers across the country to lose key staff, shut down programs, and turn students from low-income families away, a situation that is setting off alarm bells among early childhood education advocates.
Reversing labor laws rooted in slavery.
Rebecca Dixon,
June 24, 2022
As we celebrate Juneteenth this year, it is important to acknowledge the lasting impacts of slavery on the workplace and the labor market. The at-will employment doctrine, which allows employers in most states to discharge workers for any reason, and the subminimum wage for tipped workers are both rooted in the employer backlash to Emancipation. These laws continue to disadvantage workers—Black and Latinx workers in particular.
Leadership Conference, allies, and feds set out to conquer the digital divide
David Elliot,
June 21, 2022
The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) used to say that affordable access to the internet is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. And we saw this during the pandemic, when whether or not students could get online often meant the difference between learning and being denied an education at a time when schools were shuttered and classrooms went virtual. Now the federal government is addressing this inequity – and advocacy groups and service-providers across the country are jumping in to help.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, June 17, 2022
CHN Staff,
June 17, 2022
The children are hurting edition. We’ve known for some time that students’ math and reading skills have suffered during the pandemic. This is mostly due to the shift to virtual learning that begun in March 2020. Students – particularly those from families with low incomes, disproportionately Black, brown and Indigenous students – did not achieve as well when they were out of the classroom. The pandemic has led to declines in school enrollment around the nation, which in turn is forcing budget cuts in many school districts – not a good way to repair the damage inflicted on students. But we now are learning more about other ways children are hurting – with more threats on the horizon.
Advocates renew push for affordable, available child care as part of reconciliation package
Carly Shaffer,
June 16, 2022
Staring into her son’s eyes in front of the U.S. Capitol, Jacklyn from Niagara Falls, New York explained why including support for child care in the reconciliation package is crucial for her family's success. Jacklyn lives in a rural community where child care is highly inaccessible. The options are limited – there are more children who need spots than spots available in the child care programs. “Even if we could get a spot off the waitlists, there is no way we could afford it with its very high costs,” she said.
