Preschool Promise. Preschool for All. Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten. The Oregon Earned Income Credit and the Oregon Kids’ Credit. Across the state, there are efforts at the state and local level to expand access to education for the youngest Oregonians. But Oregon does not have a statewide plan for access to early childhood education.
The state’s new Early Childhood Care and Learning System Roundtable aims to fix that by pulling together a group of experts who will develop a “blueprint” for the state’s early childhood care and education programs.
“While President Trump freezes funds for childcare and undermines early education, Oregonians agree that children should have access to high-quality education and that starts before kindergarten,” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a press release announcing the new group.
Students listen during reading time at Escuela Viva Community School’s Southeast location, Oct. 26, 2023. The bilingual child care program is part of Multnomah County’s Preschool for All.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Children’s Institute CEO Kali Thorne Ladd will chair the roundtable along with Sara Mickelson, former deputy secretary for New Mexico’s early childhood education department.
According to Kotek’s office, the two are tasked with figuring out how to improve access and affordability of childcare and preschool. Ultimately, the panel has a lofty challenge: “how to achieve universal preschool access for 3-and 4-year-olds across all 36 Oregon counties.”
“These leaders will work together to help us chart an actionable path for Oregon to achieve universal, statewide Pre-K that working families can access and afford,” Kotek said. “Achieving this goal will help all children succeed and support the working families who make our economy grow.”
Oregon leaders have taken steps in the last few years to rapidly expand access to preschool and early learning, but they haven’t been perfect.
Oregon’s Early Learning Division became the Department of Early Learning and Care in 2021, an effort to bring childcare and early education programs under one umbrella. But overspending in the Preschool Promise program raised flags with state auditors last year.
Multnomah County’s Preschool For All program has drawn even tougher scrutiny. The program that leverages a tax on high earners to pay for preschool spots has drawn criticism, including from Gov. Kotek herself, for investing in programs too slowly and carrying multimillion-dollar balances.
There is little debate about the value of early learning and preschool, however. Research shows that the first five years of a child’s life are critical for development and growth, and lead to more success in adulthood.
According to The First Five Years Fund, “Oregon’s economy loses $1.4 billion annually due to childcare challenges.” The organization reports that only about 18% of the children 5 and under are served by federal and state early learning programs in Oregon. That’s pretty close to the national average.
“When I travel around the state and I talk to rural communities… the lack of access to childcare and quality access to care is one of the greatest issues that people raise,” Thorne Ladd said. “This is being raised not just from families, but business leaders, county commissioners, folks with different vocations and walks of life.”
Children play during recess at Kairos PDX, a Portland charter school trying an alternative approach to help students of color.
Erica Morrison / OPB
Thorne Ladd previously served as co-founder and executive director of KairosPDX, a Portland charter school focused on serving students of color. Before her work in New Mexico, Mickelson served as chief of programs and chief of staff for Oregon’s Early Learning Division.
Thorne Ladd said the roundtable’s work will observe lessons learned from programs like Preschool For All, but it will be a statewide model.
“We have to think about what will work for all of Oregon and not assume that everything working in Portland will work across the state,” she said.
In the press release announcing the news, Mickelson said expanding access means providing stability for families as well as a “strong start for children in their most important years of development.”
“Scaling an early learning system that truly works for every family, regardless of where they live in the state, is a critical undertaking,” Mickelson shared. “This starts with getting the plan right, creating a roadmap that is not just ambitious, but sustainable and grounded in the reality of what Oregon parents need.”
But this isn’t going to happen overnight. Thorne Ladd points out the workforce shortage in childcare and early education, as well as the state’s lack of prioritizing young children and families. And any statewide system will have to take into account different models of care, as well as the costs.
“We make choices all the time around policy and revenue that don’t advantage the birth to five population, so I think we have to look at the choices we’re making as a state in terms of where we invest and the policy decisions and how that impacts young kids and families,” Thorne Ladd said.
