The WE in WECA
WE know that in the first three years of life, a child’s brain is forming 1 million new neural connections every second. WOW! That is a lot of connections. Nurturing adult relationships are critical during this time of rapid brain development. Early childhood educators are brain architects!

WE know that by age 5, children essentially master the sound system and grammar of their language and acquire a vocabulary of thousands of words. Talking, singing, and reading to babies and toddlers and preschoolers is invaluable to their language development. Early childhood educators are linguists!

WE know that the emotional and physical health, social skills, and cognitive-linguistic capacities that emerge in the early years are all important prerequisites for success in school and later in the workplace and community. Early childhood educators build successful communities!

WE know Nobel Prize winning economist James Heckman has found a 13% Return on Investment for comprehensive, high-quality, birth-to-five early education. Early childhood educators strengthen our economy!

BUT…
WE also know that in Wisconsin the median wage for an early childhood educator with an associate degree is $10 per hour. Almost 4 out of 10 in this workforce leave their classroom every year and over 35% rely one or more public assistance programs.

This knowledge is demanding of public policy and public investments that address the needs of our young children, their families, and the early education workforce. It is with urgency that we invite you to become part of who WE are, stay current with what WE know, advocate for what WE need!

Mission and Vision

Because Small Lives Get Bigger
Quality early care and education is fundamental to creating a better world. WECA works to advance positive change for children by focusing on the professionals who provide child care for well over 70% of Wisconsin’s children.

WECA strengthens the capacities of child care professionals through:
 

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT for child care providers. New discoveries on brain development and social-emotional learning call for new approaches. Through workshops, an annual conference, a statewide member network, and more, WECA helps providers advance their skills.
• ADVOCACY for policies and programs that support the well-being of children and the early childhood education workforce.
• COMMUNICATIONS that convey what early childhood professionals do and how valuable their contributions are to families, businesses, our communities, and the world.
• RESEARCH on the child care workforce that identifies strengths, needs, and strategies for improvement.

With high-quality care children do better in school and in life, becoming adults with social and emotional skills that enable them to work, play, and relate well to others. With high-quality care, working parents can feel more confident and productive on the job, knowing that their children are safe and thriving.

Working at WECA

Employees of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) help Wisconsin’s youngest children get the best start in life by providing services and support to child care professionals. If you have the drive to make a difference and thrive in a creative, nonprofit environment WECA may be a great fit for you.

WECA staff provide direct service with “behind the scenes” administrative support for a statewide child nutrition program, a child care provider scholarship program, an annual conference, statewide professional workshops, and much more. WECA offers a comprehensive package of health and wellness benefits to employees and their families to ensure personal and financial health and well-being. The organization has a flex-time environment that is family-friendly.