Get Active!

Join our Network…
By joining the Network you will be added to our listserve. You will receive timely information and analysis on relevant research, policy and organizing efforts that support or impede improvements in early care and education employment conditions. To join OUR network send an email to ccw@aft.org

How to become involved…
Now more than ever early childhood professionals need to be actively involved in advocacy and organizing efforts to improve early care and education services for young children and jobs for those responsible for their care and education. Joining a national, state or local membership organization that includes early care and education workforce issues as a core component of its works is a critical step in building the movement to guarantee this profession the compensation, recognition and respect it deserves.

National Organizations

First Class Teachers, an associate membership program of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is exclusively designed to meet the needs of the early childhood education workforce. The goal of First Class Teachers is to organize and mobilize a diverse group of early childhood educators and their allies to advocate for fair and decent employment for this profession and reliable, affordable and high-quality early care and education services for families.

For more information about First Class Teachers, please call 1-800-238-1133 or visit www.firstclassteachers.org.

State and Local Organizations

There are several state and local organizations working together to improve the wages and benefits for the early care and education workforce. Examples of state and local membership organizations include:

Child Development Corps,
Based in Alameda County, California, this program was developed to reward staff who continue their professional training and remain in the child care field in order to improve the lives of Alameda County's young children and their families.

Wisconsin Early Child Care Association (WECA),
an organization for early childhood professionals that promotes excellence in child development practices through a range of professional growth opportunities and support services.

The Alliance for Early Childhood Professionals (AECP),
a statewide organization based in Minnesota that engages in a variety of research, education, and systems work directed toward increasing the recognition, respect, and compensation of the child development work force, to make educating and caring for children a life long profession for those who choose it.

The Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC),
Serving Southeastern Pennsylvania, DVAEYC is dedicated to improving educational opportunities for children, birth through eight, by offering professional development and training to the early childhood community.

For more information on your state, please visit the State Initiatives Page