Power to the Profession is focused on equitably advancing an effective, diverse, and well-compensated early childhood education profession across states and settings. Our children live in an increasingly diverse world, and they both need and benefit from a workforce that reflects and embodies that world. As such, when our current systems cause harm to educators, they can also harm children and their families. The inverse is also true: when our systems help educators, we help children and their families. We know that higher education plays a critical role, with many opportunities to support the workforce. If we are going to see our vision through and reimagine what could be, we have to take stock of the progress we have made, identify missed opportunities and barriers, and develop an action plan. Our panel will share perspectives and experiences from different parts of the higher education system and discuss key issues including equity, compensation, pathways, leadership, and financing, and will share recommendations for an aligned system designed to support early childhood educators.

The collaborative efforts between school psychologists and early educators can prepare children for success. Since the first decade of life is such a critical time period, early childhood interventions from birth to the early school grades are receiving widespread attention today as one of the most effective ways to prevent learning difficulties and to promote children’s development and well-being(Reyonlds, 2004). School psychologists should promote the fact that "making schoolsready for all children" contributes to systems integration among schools and early childhood programs (Bagnato, 2006). This study is important to further examine the roles of current school psychologists and to study their collaborative work with early intervention. Early childhood intervention is defined as the provision of educational, family, health and/or social services during any of the first eight years of life to children who are at risk of poor outcomes because they face socio-environmental disadvantages or have developmental disabilities (Reynolds, 2004). Federal law acknowledges the importance and need for early intervention as The Economic Opportunity and Community Partnership Act of 1974 and subsequent amendments to the law required Head Start programs in each state to serve a minimum of 10% children with disabilities (Hooper & Umansky, 2004). When children are not meeting milestones, early intervention increases the likelihood of success and a more positive later outcome.