Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder

Helping great teachers afford their jobs

The most important elements of high-quality early childhood education are the compensation, consistency, and education and training of child care teachers.

High-quality early learning cannot be achieved or sustained when the bonds between teacher and child are broken because teachers leave their jobs to gain higher paid employment in order to support their own families.

The Wage Ladder is the only early learning program in Washington found to create statistically significant improvements in the quality of care - it's also essential to keep great teachers on the job. At a cost of about $250 per child per year, it represents a frugal, robust, and evidenced-based intervention that has catalyzed high-quality child care in Washington.

With the Wage Ladder, early learning educators gain economic security and professional education, just the ingredients needed for high-quality early education and care. If we value our children, we will value their teachers and caregivers, not less so, but especially so in this recession.

Career and Wage Ladder Wage Matrix by year:

Washington State: 2009 || 2008 || 2007 || 2002
King County: 2002

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The Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder

Improving the quality of child care by enabling early learning teachers to earn appropriate professional compensation, based on educational advancement and achievement, as well as experience and job responsibility.