Early childhood education is one of those areas. Since the 1940s, Jewish early childhood programs for children two through six years of age have been places where mostly mothers — especially those working out of their homes — have entrusted the care of their children. Loving professionals watched and nurtured the next generation as if they were their own children. These women, many with professional degrees, worked for minimum wages because the hours were flexible, they loved children, and they felt they were contributing in a personal way to the Jewish community. Reinforcing Jewish traditions, like Shabbat and the major holidays, was also important, but these programs did not see themselves as Jewish schools analogous to religious schools or day schools.

Most early childhood education programs were housed in synagogues and JCCs. They often functioned as profit centers for their institutions, which used the revenue to pay for other institutional expenses. Virtually none of the income was used to increase the salaries of the early childhood educators or to enhance the programs. Today, early childhood professionals earn the same salaries (adjusted for cost of living) that they did fifteen years ago.

In contrast to salaries, other aspects of early childhood education have dramatically changed over the past fifteen years. According to Working Families and Growing Kids: Caring For Children and Adolescents, 67 percent of women with children under the age of eighteen and 56 percent of women with children under the age of three are in the labor force. Women have more career options than ever before, and many are pursuing other than traditionally female jobs in nursing or teaching. This combination of circumstances has resulted in an increased need for childcare services (especially for infants and toddlers), longer amounts of time children are in childcare programs, and a reduced pool of educated professionals.

In the intervening years, we have also learned that the first years of life lay the groundwork for all subsequent learning. As well, our understanding of what children know and what they are capable of learning has altered the way we teach and interact with them. Public education, beginning at three years old, is becoming widely available. Most states are mandating teacher standards and curriculum accountability.

The timing, therefore, is ripe for reevaluating and transforming Jewish early childhood education. The leaders of the profession must create a compelling new vision, focusing on the entire family — not just the child — where Jewish values, Hebrew language, and the centrality of Israel will be the core foundation of a broader curriculum into which secular concepts will be integrated. Educators must be willing to undergo an intensive assessment of their teaching and programs. These family education centers, though remaining safe and nurturing environments, must become centers of Jewish education, where powerful memories and lasting emotions are created. This is especially important because many contemporary Jewish homes are not providing rich, emotionally Jewish experiences necessary for Jewish commitment.

The transformation will also require hard decisions about personnel. What is at stake when we hire teachers with little or no formal Jewish education, teachers who do not lead active Jewish lives, or teachers unskilled in current early childhood pedagogy? We risk families enrolling in public or state-of-the-art private early childhood education. We risk losing an opportunity to build a strong Jewish identity for a child and family “right from the start.” A teacher can’t teach a subject that she or he doesn’t know, instill a value that he or she doesn’t believe or practice, or transmit an emotional attachment to a history or culture without a connection to it. Recruiting knowledgeable Jewish teachers in small Jewish communities is a profound challenge; recruiting them in a large Jewish community should be non-negotiable.

A new vision will depend, as well, on adjunct family and adult education components. Part of the mission of early childhood education will be to stimulate every child (and parent) to continue Jewish experiences after completing early childhood programs.

These lofty goals are within our grasp if federations, philanthropists, organizations, and community policy makers recognize the potential value of early childhood Jewish education programs. Success will determine not only if these children are well prepared for school but also if they are well prepared for life; if they embody Jewish values and are sensitive and caring human beings (menschen). These programs will facilitate long-lasting connections to Jewish institutions and will inspire young families to participate in a vibrant American Jewish community. Our children — our future — are at stake.