Good Thursday morning, Evanston.
Between low wages for staff and unaffordable costs for families, the child care sector both in Evanston and across the country has reached a crisis point.
Even before the pandemic, early childhood education centers in Evanston and across the country were struggling to find enough teachers to stay afloat. The average child care worker in the United States makes just $12 an hour, and half of all teachers receive public assistance, according to the Treasury Department.
“When I talk to centers, one in particular is down five teachers right now, one’s down three teachers and it goes on and on,” said Carol Teske, Executive Director of the Childcare Network of Evanston. “And the outcome of that is the teachers that are still there are burning out at a much faster pace because the children are there, and they need care, and so they’re working longer hours, they’re moving faster. It’s very taxing.”
Display signage to receive multiple views after blue line flag image appeared in an EPL exhibit. Take a walk along the second floor of Evanston’s main public library and you’re likely to come across some small exhibits – books and postal material artfully arranged around a table, drawing attention to a subject. One such exhibit accomplished just that earlier this month, but not for reasons Library officials would have preferred.
COVID by the numbers: Eight new cases were reported yesterday in Evanston. The seven-day average is six.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website:
City to complete asphalt pavement crack sealing over the next four weeks. The project includes grinding out sections of longitudinal and transverse cracks that have reflected through to the surface. Once the cracks are “routed,” a fluid rubberized sealing material is injected back into the crack to seal it against water infiltration.
The top-ranked ETHS boys’ varsity soccer team took down Glenbrook South in double overtime Tuesday night, thanks to a header from Sebastian Leon. The Wildkits move on to face Oak Park-River Forest in the sectional finals on Saturday afternoon.
Around the web
- New EPD transparency dashboard to undergo updates amid data concerns. The latest version of Evanston Police Department’s transparency dashboard will go live next week, featuring more traffic data and information about use of force.
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