Transforming Early Education: How Virginia’s LinkB5 System is Shaping Future Policies

In the United States, many families struggle to find quality early learning options. One major issue is the lack of skilled early childhood care and education (ECCE) workers, largely due to low wages. Some ECCE programs cannot accept more children because they don’t have enough staff, leaving families without the care they need to work and children without important learning opportunities.

State leaders want to fix these problems, but they often face a lack of data about the ECCE workforce. Many states do not have the information needed to understand their early childhood education systems well. This lack of data makes it hard to identify issues and assess investments aimed at improving the workforce.

Virginia has made strides in this area with LinkB5, a statewide ECCE data system that helps track important details about the workforce and the quality of education programs. Through LinkB5, Virginia can answer critical questions about its ECCE system, which may serve as a model for other states grappling with similar challenges.

Over the past six years, the Virginia Department of Education has worked with the University of Virginia to build this data system as part of its quality improvement initiative, which began amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, in 2019, only 557 sites participated. But thanks to a new state law requiring participation, LinkB5 now includes more than 3,200 publicly funded birth-to-five sites across Virginia.

LinkB5 collects detailed information about teachers, enrollment, and program quality, covering programs like Head Start, public preschools, and other child care facilities.

Understanding Virginia’s ECCE Workforce

LinkB5 allows Virginia to gain insights into various aspects of its ECCE workforce, such as:

• Demographics of the workforce: The system tracks info on nearly 23,000 early educators, revealing that many lack a college degree and that a significant number are new to teaching.
• Teacher turnover rates: Virginia can now monitor how many teachers leave their positions each year. About one-third of lead teachers and 38% of assistant teachers left their jobs between fall 2023 and fall 2024, with child care centers experiencing the highest turnover.
• Impact of experience and pay: The data helps identify how turnover rates vary based on teacher experience and compensation. For instance, first-year teachers and those earning below the median wage tend to leave at higher rates.
• Regional challenges: The state’s diversity means that issues can vary greatly by region. LinkB5 provides local data that help regional leaders understand their specific workforce challenges and tailor support accordingly.

Having detailed, systematic data is vital for effective policymaking. The stability of the ECCE workforce is crucial to ensure that children and families benefit from early education opportunities. Virginia’s investment in LinkB5 enables the state to monitor workforce changes, assess the impact of new policies and funding initiatives, and address the challenges in their ECCE landscape.

By collaborating with various stakeholders, Virginia demonstrates that it is possible to create a comprehensive data system that fills existing gaps. This kind of approach can help shape effective policies to improve early childhood education for all families.