Illinois unites to reform early childhood education, fostering future workforce success

Springfield, IL (WICS) — In an effort to strengthen Illinois' workforce, organizations across the state are uniting together to promote solutions to set future employees up for success –all starting with the early stages of their lives.

A new report created by members from the non-profit Council for a Strong America notes that starting early matters, especially when setting our kids up for success.

Council for a Strong America is a national, bipartisan nonprofit that unites membership organizations, including law enforcement leaders, retired admirals and generals, and business executives, that promote solutions ensuring that our next generation of Americans will be successful, productive members of society.

According to the report, High-quality early childhood care and education lays a foundation that helps set young children on a trajectory for academic and career success.

You can't be ready for kindergarten just by showing up to kindergarten, so early childhood education is really important, even for those basics, said Setti.

According to business leader Chris Setti, job candidates in Illinois lack basic skills like teamwork and sharing.

Sean Noble, an author of the report, agreed, stating young children learning to do the simple task of lining up for recess has a direct correlation to what will be expected of them one day in the workforce.

We often hear the same kinds of concerns from employers as we hear from kindergarten teachers. And that is that we can spot early on when someone is missing that foundation of social emotion skills, as well as technical, that would really help them get further in life, said Nobel.

On the path to help guide children further in life, Tiffany Risley, over at the Brown County Early Learning Center shared that the caregivers and teachers need to be taken seriously as well.

"Most of the time we are seen as babysitters vs educators, and I think that can go against us a lot of time," said Risley.

Risley adds she would like to see lawmakers at the capitol consider prioritizing early childhood centers across the entire state, especially in rural areas.

"I think that sometimes our smaller communities get forgotten in the whole of Illinois," said Risley.

According to the report, only 30% of Illinois children enter kindergarten fully ready for school. This stat along with several others are reasons why organizations are asking legislators for early childhood care and education to be at the forefront.

Currently, at the statehouse, local Senator Jil Tracy has advanced legislation to provide flexible daycare scheduling options with Senate Bill 3207.

The bill authorizes daycare centers to operate for 24 hours and provide care for children for up to 12 hours. The bill received unanimous support when it passed out of the Senate on Friday, April 12th, 2024, and now advances to the House of for further consideration.