SRI researchers are informing how Head Start programs set standards to improve pay for teachers.
For 60 years, Head Start has been a pillar of the U.S. early childhood care and education ecosystem, providing high-quality early education to tens of millions of children. Despite the well-documented importance of early education, pay for Head Start teachers lags behind that of public school preschool and kindergarten teachers. Moreover, low compensation is the top reason cited for the high rates of teacher turnover affecting the quality of care in Head Start programs across the country.
New Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) call for programs to improve pay for teachers. Head Start programs are now tasked with the exciting yet challenging opportunity to implement pay parity, bringing Head Start wages in line with public preschool or kindergarten teachers.
To illustrate the current extent of pay parity, SRI researchers Laura Hudson, Nicholas Ortiz, and Anne Partika conducted an exploratory analysis to demonstrate how the range of wages offered to teachers in Head Start job postings differed from kindergarten teacher wages.
Below is a new, interactive ArcGIS StoryMap that details the team’s findings and provides recommendations for Head Start grantees and state leaders as they design a pay scale and strive towards pay parity. For an enhanced viewing experience, open the StoryMap in a separate tab.
Experts at SRI Education have experience developing pay scales and implementing pay parity programs across localities. You can find an example of related work completed for Minnesota in 2024. Would you like to discuss how SRI can support your region, state, or program in this important work? Reach out to us at earlylearning@sri.com .
