Born and raised on Oahu, Catherine Toth Fox is an editor, writer, children’s book author, blogger and former journalism instructor. She is currently the editor at large for Hawaii Magazine and lives in Honolulu with her husband, son and two dogs. You can follow her on Instagram @catherinetothfox. Opinions are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat's views.
A friend of mine worked at a Honolulu preschool for a few years and loved it — until she needed a second job to make ends meet. She ditched her dreams of running her own early childhood education center and went into real estate.
This scenario isn’t uncommon, especially in Hawaii where preschool teachers, on average, make between $13 and $17 an hour — about half the state’s living wage. I recently saw a job posting at a Honolulu preschool where the salary started at $17 an hour, or $35,360 a year.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roofers, funeral attendants and farm workers earn more.
The wages can be even lower for those working at infant and toddler centers (for children 3 years and under). And now, not surprisingly, Hawaii is suffering from an exodus of child care workers. According to the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, from 2018 to 2020, Hawaii lost 20% of its child care workforce.
Then the pandemic hit.
Even more professionals in the early child care and education sector — both in Hawaii and across the country — left their jobs. Many haven’t returned, forcing...
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