Monday Public Policy

Competing for Early Childhood Educators: Addressing Teacher Shortages


Monday | October 17, 2022

It is an Early Childhood Education Summit tradition that we open our three-day Summit with a Keynote and Workshop track that focuses on Federal and State Policy. The last two plus years have brought much attention to the integral role early care and education plays in supporting working families and the economy. However, the industry and its workforce were struggling before the coronavirus hit and while the resources and policies targeted to address the impact of the virus helped, we continue to work to save it from collapse. During Monday's public policy sessions we will hear from federal and experts as well as early education providers on lessons learned and what is being done to move us forward.

Monday Keynote:

Dan Wuori, Ph.D.

Senior Director of Early Learning, The Hunt Institute




Dr. Dan Wuori joined The Hunt Institute as Director of Early Learning in January of 2019, and became Senior Director in February 2021. He serves as a subject matter expert and oversees The Institute’s expanding work in the early childhood policy realm.

A former kindergarten teacher and school district administrator, Dan served as the Deputy Director of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness – the state’s comprehensive, public-private early learning initiative – from 2005-2018. In this role he worked alongside elected leaders to develop significant, bipartisan support for early childhood education and oversaw system innovations including the delivery of public prekindergarten in private, community- and faith-based preschools, improvements to the state’s IDEA Part C early intervention system, the creation of statewide program accountability standards, and the expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs. A Past President of the SC Early Childhood Association, Dan was honored as South Carolina’s 2018 Champion for Children at the state’s annual Summit on Early Childhood. He splits his time between Cary and his family’s home in Columbia, SC.


2.03 | Federal Panel: Competing for Early Childhood Educators: Addressing Teacher Shortages
Standard 6: Level 2

Recent headlines announced what many early childhood program administrators already knew we are in competition with K-12 for our certified teachers and nearly every other business that has been able to boost compensation for employees. This Federal Panel will address the national crisis early childhood programs are in to recruit and retain qualified early educators. We will explore options and solutions for reducing staff shortages, without reducing qualifications, as well as increasing compensation. What are the effective strategies to build the bridge to an experienced, well-compensated and supported workforce?


Facilitated by Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, National Head Start Association


3.04 | State Panel: Competing for Early Childhood Educators: Addressing Teacher Shortages
Standard 6: Level 2

Recent headlines announced what many early childhood program administrators already knew we are in competition with K-12 for our certified teachers and nearly every other business that has been able to boost compensation for employees. A new report from the Pennsylvania Department of Education notes the significant decline in Level1 certification from 20,000 to 6,000 per year in the last decade. It‘s an understatement that events in the last two years have created tremendous staff recruitment and retention challenges impacting all early learning programs. In this panel we will explore options and solutions for reducing staff shortages, without reducing qualifications, as well as increasing compensation. What are the effective strategies to build the bridge to an experienced, well-compensated and supported workforce? Let‘s explore in this interactive session.

Facilitated by: Diane P. Barber, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Child Care Association and Lindsey Ramsey, Assistant Director of Policy and Practice, Trying Together


Panel members: Members of the Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA State Advisory Committee


1.04 OCDEL Town Hall

Shante’ Brown, Acting Deputy Secretary, OCDEL; Lisa Parker, Director, OCDEL Bureau of Early Intervention Services; Christine Reber, Director, OCDEL Bureau of Early Learning Resource Center Operations and Monitoring; Kesley Shaw, Director, OCDEL Bureau of Policy and Professional Development

Join members of the OCDEL senior management team as they discuss and answer questions regarding their current initiatives and future vision.