Emily spends her days with 12 3-year-old children and a young assistant teacher in her classroom. This is her 20th year in the classroom and she loves working with children, but the past few years have been incredibly difficult on her and her colleagues. Emily continues to teach in her center because she loves her work. Yet, more importantly, she stays because her colleagues and administrators constantly support her when she needs them. She is able to take a quick break and go for a walk when she is having a hard time. If her own children are home sick, her program has qualified substitutes ready to take over her curriculum and instruction. Her program has a relationship with a mental health consultant to offer support to her, the children in her class, and their families, and a relationship to a local community college to provide support to her assistant teacher as she grows into her new role. She is afforded opportunities to engage in professional development to get better at her craft. She feels appreciated, valued, and supported, because she works in a center that embraces a culture of caring.

As an early education workforce, we are reeling from the wide range of needs in our classrooms and the pull of stressors in our own lives. Each of us wants to work in a place where we feel valued, cared for, and engaged. Yet our work is caring for others, giving everything to make others’ lives better. How do we navigate our roles to care for others, while balancing our own self-care so we can do our best? Creating a culture of caring in our workplace means more than just caring for children and families, it means caring for our colleagues and ourselves so that we can do what we love and make a difference in children and families’ lives.