e d i t o r ’ s n ot e
Universal preschool = game changer
I
for the long days and short years
cheered when Multnomah County voters passed the Preschool for All measure in November 2020, because I am a living testament to how life-changing free child care can be. When I was offered the job as managing editor of PDX Parent in 2014, I had not been working outside the home since my then-2-year-old daughter, Adela, was born. I wanted the job, but knew almost my entire paycheck would be swallowed by child care costs. (Case in point: the Economic Policy Institute states that child care for a 4-year-old in Oregon costs almost as much as state college tuition.) But I was extremely privileged to have in-laws willing to take Adela two days a week for free, so I was able to say yes to the part-time job with flexible hours. And not only did my in-laws, Betsy and Craig, take care of Adela (and eventually her little brother, Cruz), they took her on wonderful adventures to library storytimes, messy art at Spark Arts, the Oregon Zoo, Multnomah Falls, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, OMSI, you name it. They got to really know their granddaughter, she got showered with love and attention — if sometimes a little too much sugar — and I got to do a job that is creative and fulfilling, and put my years of magazine editing experience to good use. I earned pay raises and eventually a promotion to editor. If I had never taken the job because it didn’t make financial sense at the time, I never would have reached the place where I could solidly contribute to my family’s household income. CRAIG PARKER A mother shouldn’t have to rely on being lucky enough to have willing and reliable grandparents to afford to work. Yes, Multnomah County’s universal preschool will prepare kids for kindergarten and beyond, and will pay preschool teachers a wage that more accurately reflects the importance of their job. But the benefit that is not discussed as much is that parents (mostly mothers) will be able to work outside the home if they choose, because they will have free child care for their 3- to 4-year-old children. And that years later, they will be much better off financially. Knowing the impact free preschool will have on DENISE CASTAÑON families, I was eager to learn how universal preschool in Multnomah County will work. And I figured other parents would want to know, too. Thanks to writer Shasta Kearns Moore for diving into Multnomah County’s trailblazing measure and spelling it out for us. Spoiler alert: Universal preschool is not happening in the immediate future, but see the timeline on page 11 for more details.
PDX Parent P.O. Box 13660 Portland, OR 97213-0660 Phone: 503-460-2774 Publisher Rose Caudillo, 503-460-2774 publisher@pdxparent.com Editor Denise Castañon, 503-922-0893 denise.castanon@pdxparent.com Art Director Susan Bard Web Director Michelle Carew, 503-914-6151 michelle.carew@pdxparent.com Eastside Account Executive Lauren Wylie, 503-331-8184 lauren.wylie@pdxparent.com Westside Account Executive Jill Weisensee, 503-309-8272 jill.weisensee@pdxparent.com Newsletter and Calendar Editor Melissa Light melissa.light@pdxparent.com Finance Manager Christie Kline, 503-810-9817 christie.kline@pdxparent.com President Jill Weisensee jill.weisensee@pdxparent.com For distribution issues, e-mail us at distribution@pdxparent.com For calendar submissions, e-mail us at calendar@pdxparent.com
PDX Parent is published monthly (except July) by Northwest Parent, LLC., and is copyright 2021 Northwest Parent, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. PDX Parent is distributed free of charge throughout the Portland, OR / Vancouver, WA metropolitan area. PDX Parent reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. Distribution of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services advertised herein. PDX Parent does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion,
On our cover: Suzanne Puttman of Click by
Suzanne took our adorable cover photo during one of her preschool class sessions at Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC). “Shooting preschool photos is really fun because you need to work fast, and have fun with it,” says Puttman, a mom of three. “As a photographer you need to win the kids over quickly, so they will open up and show you their little personalities.” We think she’s got it down! Find more of her work at clickbysuzanne.com and facebook.com/clickbysuzanne. 4
February 2021
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