Bring Respect to Little Eagles Preschool Educators through Definition and Wage Parity
The Issue
As an important and integral part of the Eden Prairie School's Designing Pathways, the Little Eagles Preschool serves hundreds of our littlest learners throughout the year. And the Little Eagles Preschool Program thrives at the hands of dedicated and talented educators who provide valuable social, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive learning that lay a foundation for future success.
Research from the National Institute for Early Education Research indicates that high-quality preschool programs require highly-trained educators to maximize the benefits of early learning in academic, socio-emotional, and executive functioning skills; provide expertise in the identification of health or special service intervention needs; and implement the process and structure needed to carry out the pedagogical work of young learners.
Since 2018, the Little Eagles Preschool teachers have organized around the goal of bringing wage parity to their careers. Despite nationally recognized research recommendations and the surrounding market indicators, Eden Prairie Schools has yet to compensate their preschool educators as professional educators, comparable to any other educator in the district.
This disparity results in the instability of staff, who leave the district for other opportunities that pay on par with other professional educators.
Little Eagles Preschool teachers are asking for your support through this petition to emphasize the need of the following actions by the Eden Prairie School Board:
- attract and retain highly-qualified preschool educators through improved salaries and benefits--matching that of other K-12 educators in the district.
- collaborate with educators to build support for a state bill that redefines licensing requirements for preschool, school readiness, school readiness plus, or school-based early childhood programs; our children deserve highly trained (licensed) teachers in each classroom.
- collaborate with educators to build support for additional funding dedicated to school-based early childhood programs.
The Issue
As an important and integral part of the Eden Prairie School's Designing Pathways, the Little Eagles Preschool serves hundreds of our littlest learners throughout the year. And the Little Eagles Preschool Program thrives at the hands of dedicated and talented educators who provide valuable social, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive learning that lay a foundation for future success.
Research from the National Institute for Early Education Research indicates that high-quality preschool programs require highly-trained educators to maximize the benefits of early learning in academic, socio-emotional, and executive functioning skills; provide expertise in the identification of health or special service intervention needs; and implement the process and structure needed to carry out the pedagogical work of young learners.
Since 2018, the Little Eagles Preschool teachers have organized around the goal of bringing wage parity to their careers. Despite nationally recognized research recommendations and the surrounding market indicators, Eden Prairie Schools has yet to compensate their preschool educators as professional educators, comparable to any other educator in the district.
This disparity results in the instability of staff, who leave the district for other opportunities that pay on par with other professional educators.
Little Eagles Preschool teachers are asking for your support through this petition to emphasize the need of the following actions by the Eden Prairie School Board:
- attract and retain highly-qualified preschool educators through improved salaries and benefits--matching that of other K-12 educators in the district.
- collaborate with educators to build support for a state bill that redefines licensing requirements for preschool, school readiness, school readiness plus, or school-based early childhood programs; our children deserve highly trained (licensed) teachers in each classroom.
- collaborate with educators to build support for additional funding dedicated to school-based early childhood programs.
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Petition created on February 13, 2023