Early childhood programs across the U.S. are struggling to meet the growing demand for quality care and education—and there just aren’t enough teachers to fill the need. On August 5, 2025, SciLine interviewed Dr. W. Steven Barnett, a professor of education in economics and policy at Rutgers University—New Brunswick.
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Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
ANCHOR AS A NEW SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS… THE HUNT TO HIRE TEACHERS ISN’T OVER… ESPECIALLY AT PRESCHOOLS AND DAYCARES.
VO DOCTOR STEVEN BARNETT IS AN EDUCATION ECONOMIST AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY.
HE SAYS TWO BIG FACTORS ARE DRIVING THE EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER SHORTAGE… RECORD-HIGH ENROLLMENT… AND CHALLENGES RETAINING TEACHERS AFTER THE PANDEMIC DUE TO LOW PAY… NO OPTION TO WORK FROM HOME… AND GROWING SAFETY CONERNS.
AND WITH FEWER QUALIFIED TEACHERS… HE SAYS THE QUALITY OF EARLY EDUCATION IS TAKING A HIT.
SOT Duration: 0:43 Super: Dr. Steven Barnett – Professor, Rutgers University
“The long-term benefits of attending high-quality preschool programs, especially for sustained periods of time, you do better when you get to school. Because you do better when you get to school, you do better through school, you’re more likely to graduate high school and go on to college, then you’re more likely to be employed, you earn more money. Those folks are also healthier and live longer. So there’s a life span of benefits from high quality programs, but only if they’re high quality, the core of that is a good teacher, and if we can’t put good teachers in the classrooms, we’re not going to get the results that we want from these preschool programs.”
VO DOCTOR BARNETT SAYS IT’S ESPECIALLY TOUGH TO FIND TEACHERS FOR YOUNG KIDS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS OR DISABILITIES.
HE SAYS RAISING TEACHER PAY IS THE BEST LONG-TERM SOLUTION.
Raw, full-length interview covers:
What’s driving the shortage, including low wages, high turnover, and increasing demand for early education services;
How the lack of qualified early educators affects program quality, growth, and access for families;
What research reveals about the need for more professionals in early intervention and early special education; and
Long-term benefits and improved life outcomes for children who attend preschool programs.
