Alora Zargo: I belong to the next generation of early childhood educators. Vermont needs us.

This commentary is by Alora Zargo of Brookline.

My name is Alora Zargo, and I’m a senior at Brattleboro Union High School and the Windham Regional Career Center, where I’m preparing for a career as an early childhood educator. I will graduate fully qualified to work with young children in registered child care programs. With approximately 10,600 child care slots still needed to meet current demand , Vermont needs me and my classmates.

I faced some difficulties growing up, and I initially considered a career as a child psychologist: I knew I wanted to support children’s mental health and overall well-being. Kim Freeman, my instructor at Windham Regional Career Center, says that the students who enroll in her program have hope for the future and want to make a difference in people’s lives. In her class we develop and implement lesson plans, practice reflective feedback and have hard conversations about children at risk, or just how exciting child development is.

I’m still in high school, and I’m already starting to feel like a professional in a valued field. I matter so much to these developing young people. Even on difficult days, I can take a deep breath and say to one of my students, “I really love you, and you’re an awesome kid.” Children show you that the world still has innocence in it.

When I graduate next spring, I’ll have already earned 12 college credits at Community College of Vermont, because we’re taking college classes for free. My classmates and I are enrolled in a youth apprenticeship program, so we are paid for our on-the-job work in local child care programs.

It really helps that Vermont’s higher education programs, like CCV, align with technical programs like ours. There are financial and access barriers to pursuing higher education or a career. The tools, experience and opportunities we get from our program reduce these barriers.

One of the most exciting prospects for me is becoming a lead teacher in an early childhood classroom, where I can decorate my room and make it truly my own. I can picture a classroom that reflects every child who steps into it, with personal touches like handprints on the walls to celebrate their growth and memories.

Someday, I hope to earn a master’s degree, so I can follow in my instructor Kim’s footsteps and become a career center teacher or college professor. I want to teach and inspire young adults with a passion for early childhood education who will continue to make a difference in children’s lives.

The high school juniors entering my program are, like me, passionate about early childhood education. I tell them it’s an ideal time to pursue it as a career. When Vermont’s legislature passed Act 76 in May 2023, it committed to a $125-million annual investment in Vermont’s child care system. In addition to making child care more affordable and accessible for families, Act 76 also invests in building a well-prepared, well-compensated early childhood education workforce.

This field used to be underfunded and under-resourced. In some ways it still is, but early childhood education is becoming a career option where I can practice what I love with low or no student debt, a living wage and opportunities to grow.

We are changing lives through this work. People don’t realize how smart children are, and how much information they absorb. Being on the floor with young children isn’t just fun; it’s inspiring to watch a child develop into someone who is happy, resilient and appreciates life.

If we have enough early childhood educators to teach every child who needs access to quality child care — where the kids can learn about themselves and explore and create — the next generation of Vermont kids will thrive. Every day, early childhood educators create the future. Programs like mine at Windham Regional Career Center create the early childhood educators our state needs, like me.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Alora Zargo: I belong to the next generation of early childhood educators. Vermont needs us. .