Let’s Make 2025 the Year We Invest in Every Child’s Future

Happy New Year! In 2025, we have the chance to transform early childhood education and child care in New York, ensuring every child gets the strong start they deserve.

Early care and learning are the foundations of a child's future. Studies show that children with access to quality early education are more likely to succeed in school and life, but too many kids still face barriers.

Right now, many school districts don't have enough money to provide the high-quality Pre-K education all children need. That's why we're fighting for increased Pre-K funding - specifically, raising it to $10,000 per child each year. This would allow districts statewide to improve classrooms, hire better-trained teachers, and provide necessary wraparound services like transportation and support for children with special needs. This is a crucial step in ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has access to a quality public education, as is their constitutional right.

In addition to Pre-K, child care workers - who play a vital role in shaping children's futures - are often paid poverty wages. We need to raise their pay to reflect the importance of their work and help keep them in the profession. Doing so would improve quality of care and increase stability for working families, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to care and that all children have the opportunity to thrive from the very beginning of life.

Investing in early education has a huge return for New York. For every dollar spent on early education, New York sees a return of $3 to $7. This means less spending on things like special education, health care, and even incarceration later in life - saving families and the state millions of dollars. Plus, children who start strong are more likely to graduate, get good jobs, and contribute to our economy.

Join AQE and the Empire State Campaign for Child Care on January 28, 2025, for Child Care Advocacy Day. Let's make sure, together, that early education and care is a top priority in 2025.