A note from child care provider Tonia McMillian…
Dear sisters and brothers:
Last Friday was a first for Governor Brown.
He wanted to learn more about the work that we do every day, preparing children for success in school…so, we invited him to walk a day in our shoes!
 |
The Governor showed up early at Li’l Nancy’s Child Care in Oakland. Child Care Provider Nancy Harvey explained the various key stages of early learning and development that she helps children reach. Nancy is a former elementary school teacher. After seeing children—mostly from low-income communities—fail kindergarten entry tests, she opened a child care business focused on educating and caring for children ages 0-3. Now she makes sure kids are ready to succeed in school!
The Governor joined the 3-year-olds for story time and singing (and quizzed them on where their collarbones are—that issue didn’t get resolved!). He then met one-on-one with Nancy to hear more about her commitment to educating children, supporting families, closing the achievement gap, and the support family child care providers need to continue to do this work across California.
Nancy and I asked the Governor to invest more in early education and give providers a voice to help improve child care services.
I reminded Governor Brown that California’s educational achievement gap could be closed with more investment in early care and education and that child care providers are ready to work with him to make it happen. I explained that we’ve been working with the California Department of Education, but that we want a seat at the table to work directly with him!
At the end of the day, the Governor said he was impressed by the care Nancy offers and by all the learning that happens at such a young age.
We will continue to urge the Governor and state legislators to restore the children who have been cut from programs like Nancy’s and to work with us to strengthen California’s child care system.
Sincerely,
Tonia McMillian
Child Care Provider in Bellflower & SEIU Local 99 Executive Board Member
