NAEYC launches Value. Voice. Vote. campaign
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has launched Value. Voice. Vote. a national campaign connecting the decades-long fight for professional recognition and compensation in early childhood education to the power of civic participation. The campaign debuted on Worthy Wage Day, the annual call to action for early childhood educators who remain among the most undervalued and underpaid workers in the United States despite their critical role in supporting children’s development and the nation’s economy.
The campaign runs through election day on November 3, 2026, and unfolds in three phases: a concentrated advocacy push beginning in May, a voter registration and candidate education effort through the summer and fall, and a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote mobilization ahead of Election Day.
“Fair compensation isn’t a perk. It’s an appropriate recognition of the care, skill, and dedication early educators bring to their work,” said Michelle Kang, CEO of NAEYC. “In our centennial year, we carry 100 years of evidence about the ways early childhood educators shape the trajectory of children’s lives and support our families, communities, and economy. It’s time for these educators to be compensated in the way they deserve so that we can ensure each and every child and family has access to the high-quality early learning opportunities they need to thrive.”
Wages for early childhood educators fall below those for approximately 97 percent of other professions and most lack access to professional benefits through their work, even as research consistently demonstrates the outsized impact of high-quality early learning on children's long-term outcomes.
NAEYC’s 2026 workforce survey of more than 7,000 educators found that 26 percent are considering leaving the field within the next year, with more than 60 percent of that group saying they would be likely to stay if wages were higher (see state-specific data here). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for a childcare worker in the United States is just $15.41 an hour. High turnover driven by chronically low compensation destabilizes programs and disrupts the continuity young children need, contributing to supply challenges that make it harder for children and families to access the quality early childhood education they need to thrive.
Value. Voice. Vote. draws a direct line between compensation advocacy and electoral engagement. All across the country, policymakers are running for office to represent the needs of their communities, and a mobilized ECE workforce has the opportunity to ensure the needs of educators and the children and families they serve are centered and elevated throughout the election cycle.
Early educators, advocates, and community leaders are encouraged to join the campaign at www.naeyc.org/value-voice-vote and use #ValueVoiceVote across social media.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. In 2026, we celebrate 100 years of advancing a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and supporting all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. Today, the association comprises tens of thousands of individual members of the early childhood community and 50 Affiliates across the country, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning.