Dear Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels,

As early childhood educators and advocates, we are thrilled by the transformative public investment in early care and education in New York City. We call for that investment to be devoted to building a stable supply of ‘highly quality,’ culturally sustaining, community-based programs. We are specifically requesting that investor-backed, for-profit chains be excluded from contracting.

The recent abuse and health code violations at Bright Horizons Columbus Circle, while particularly egregious, are symptomatic of grave quality concerns at investor-backed chains around the globe. Studies in multiple countries have shown that private-equity owned childcare chains have weaker workforce and quality indicators than community-based or not-for-profit providers, including lower pay and benefits, greater staffing instability, more reliance on less-experienced staff or waivers, and, in some settings, more labor-related violations. Children’s well-being is directly tied to educator wellbeing. We cannot prioritize quick access to childcare supply over children’s safety, attachments and care.

Families in New York City need stable, reliable sources of care. Private-equity ownership in childcare has been associated with greater market concentration and business models that prioritize debt repayment and investor returns over affordability and equitable access. Relying on PE-backed centers, which focus heavily on borrowing and short-term returns, may pose sustainability risks to the education and care system in NYC. These patterns raise serious concerns about whether investor-backed childcare chains are appropriate stewards of public EC funds. 

We envision a childcare system in New York City that is responsive, culturally and linguistically sustaining. We are heartened by the mayor’s commitment to expand 3K so that families can find care in their own communities. Local care should be tied to local curriculum, so that children can discover and appreciate the wonder of growing up in New York City. Investor-backed companies promise pre-packaged experiences designed for an international market. These companies' broader concern is their business model rather than serving public needs. This is not the vision of quality we hold for New York.

We call for greatly increased public investment in the early care and education workforce, including compensation parity for educators working in community-based programs. We believe that all early childhood educators working in New York should be able to belong to a strong union, and we are concerned by private-equity’s record of resistance to early childhood workers’ unionization efforts. Should the governor provide this increased investment, it should not be ‘misdirected to create a revenue stream for extractive corporations.’ Rather, it should strengthen community-based organizations run by New Yorkers, the majority of whom are women of color.

The time to act is now. New York can demonstrate strong stewardship of public money by ending contracts with investor-backed chains and not contracting with new ones.

**People’s Early Childhood Coalition of NYC (PEC)**

Devora Cafiero, Instructional Coordinator, Division of Early Childhood Education, New York
City Public Schools
Petal Davis, 3K teacher, New York City Public Schools
Beth Ferholt, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York
Helen Frazier, PreK Teacher, Compass Charter School
Kori Goldberg, Early Childhood Teacher (retired)
Beauty ‘Lara’ Jinadu, 3K Teacher and Director
Pico Kassell, PreK Teacher, Roosevelt Island Day Nursery
Megan Pamela Ruth Madison, Lecturer, Long Island University
Maria Mavrides Calderon, Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education, Hunter College, The City University of New York
Kathy McCullagh, Education Administrator, Division of Early Childhood Education, New York City Public Schools (retired)
Lacey Peters, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, Hunter College, The City University of New York
Laura Sedlock, Instructional Coordinator, Division of Early Childhood Education, New York City Public Schools
Diana Segovia, PreK Teacher, New York City Public Schools
Stacey Sperling, Instructional Coordinator, Division of Early Childhood Education, New York City Public Schools
Gillian Stauch, Instructional Coordinator, Division of Early Childhood Education, New York City Public Schools
Sheila Vanesa Szklanny, Instructional Coordinator, Division of Early Childhood Education, New York City Public Schools
Carolyn Yasharian, Educational Director, New York City Early Education Center
Diandra Verwayne, Instructional Coordinator, Division of Early Childhood Education, New York City Public Schools
María Alejandra Vicco,  PreK Teacher,  New York City Public Schools

**ECE on the Move**
Gladys Jones Founder/CEO

**Alliance for Quality Education (AQE)**
Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, Co- Executive Director
Marina Marcou-O’Malley, Co-Executive Director

New York City Leaders

Katie Albitz, Founder, Child Care Stories
Anna Allanbrook, Retired Principal, Brooklyn New School PS 146
Margaret Blachley, Co-Director of the Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice at Bank Street College 
Lorraine Falchi, Early Childhood Education Coach 
Bruce Kanze, City College of New York
Tovah P. Klein, Director/Professor Emerita, Barnard Center for Toddler Development; Barnard College, Columbia University
Lesley Koplow, Author, Teacher, Child Psychotherapist, Founder of Emotionally Responsive Practice 
Lauren Melodia, Director, Economic and Fiscal Policy, The New School 
Mark Nagasawa, Director, Strauss Center for Young Children and Families, Bank Street College of Education
Romelle Moore, Mental Health Specialist,The Center For Emotionally Responsive Practices, Bankstreet College
Lauren Monaco, teacher and parent, New York City Public Schools
Takiema Bunche Smith, Founder & CEO, Anahsa, LLC