Pamela Northam, first lady of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, spoke to educators and advocated for the importance of early childhood education development during a meeting held at Longwood University Thursday.

During the meeting, various colleges, universities and childhood advocacy organizations developed plans to create sustainable career development opportunities for teachers pursuing early childhood education.

Representatives of Longwood University, the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, Virginia Commonwealth University, community colleges with the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), Old Dominion University, James Madison University and George Mason University attended.

The Governor’s Office recently announced that due to agreements between state and community colleges, those pursuing degrees in early childhood education can take courses at community colleges and receive certificates or an associate’s degree that transfer into four-year institutions in order for students to better pursue a bachelor’s degree.

“This new pathway will bolster our early childhood workforce in the short term by allowing students to acquire an associate’s degree in early childhood education that fully articulates into a bachelor’s degree,” Ralph Northam said in a release from the Governor’s Office. “And by ensuring that early educators have the necessary skills to support the growth and learning of our youngest children, this effort will also have a positive impact on future generations of Virginians.”

Pamela said Ralph had been a pediatric neurologist before going into politics. She was in pediatric occupational therapy. She said both of their careers focused on children, and that they shared a hope to create bright futures for young people.

She said she and Ralph “hit the ground running” on issues of education before Ralph was inaugurated, exploring best practices of early childhood care across the United States.

“All children, all Virginia children, are capable of and deserve to enter kindergarten with the tools they need to succeed, no matter who they are or where they’re from,” Pamela Northam said. “We’re so dedicated to this.”

Pamela said she recently completed a back-to-school tour, where she traveled to more than 2,000 schools in Virginia to highlight notable teachers and early childhood education centers. She said the goal is to prepare future early childhood educators and equipping them and the children they teach with the best resources possible to thrive, including diversity in the workforce and highlighting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs as children today become adults.

Quoting Frederick Douglass, she said, “It is much easier to build a stronger child than it is to fix a broken man.”

Pamela, after speaking, worked with each group who described their plans and timelines for strengthening their early childhood education programs.

Justin Pope, Longwood Vice President and Chief of Staff, said this meeting is a way for Longwood and other institutions to take leading roles in early childhood education and the importance of building an early childhood education workforce. He said the Andy Taylor Center for Early Childhood Education, which opened in 2017, is a central component of Longwood’s contribution to early childhood education.

“In meetings with stakeholders in recent months, it was decided it would be useful for the higher education institutions active in this field to come together in person with other stakeholders and talk about the hard work we’ve already undertaken to improve pathways for students to earn early childhood education credentials, and work through some of the challenges going forward,” Pope said. “We know that high-quality preparation for early childhood teachers makes a tremendous difference in student outcomes and is an investment that, overall for society, pays for itself many times over. Longwood was honored to host, and particularly pleased to have the First Lady, who is extremely passionate about this interest, take an active part in today’s discussions.”

“There is a growing recognition both by experts and political leaders in both parties that quality early childhood education is absolutely essential to the educational pipeline,” Pope said. “Several of Virginia’s public universities, including Longwood, are especially focused on how we can help. The goal today was to help one another out, communicate, build relationships, and make sure we’re all rowing in the same direction.”