The Village That Helped Raise Our Kids

Next month, our family’s beloved preschool will close its doors.

Both of our kids started in daycare when they were just 11 weeks old. Like so many working parents, we spent many weeks searching for a place we could trust. At our preschool, we found more than child care. We found a village.

For the last seven years, our kids’ teachers have celebrated milestones, dried tears, splashed and played, and loved our kids as their own. They made it possible for my husband and me to work, serve, and give our kids a good life. I don’t know how we’ll ever thank them enough for what they’ve done for our family.

During COVID, while I was reporting to my full-time job at the Texas National Guard every day as an essential worker, our preschool was our lifeline. They cared for my son so I could care for my community as part of a massive COVID response effort.

That’s what child care really is: the foundation that lets parents show up at work, children thrive, and communities grow.

But in my years as a preschool parent, I’ve been struck by how often the people doing this essential work are among the least supported. Child care educators are underpaid, providers struggle to keep their doors open, and parents are left paying bills that can rival a second mortgage - if they can even find a spot.

As I travel across our district, I hear the same thing from parents over and over: It shouldn’t be this hard to go to work and raise a family.

They’re right.

Next month, I’ll watch families from our preschool scramble to find new care, children say goodbye to teachers they love, and dedicated educators suddenly face uncertainty about where they’ll work next. Our family’s story isn’t unique. It’s playing out in communities across Texas and across the country because we’ve built a child care system that’s stretched to its breaking point.

The good news is that this is a problem we can solve. When families can afford child care and providers have the resources to keep their doors open, more parents can stay in the workforce, businesses have a stronger labor force, children benefit from stable early learning, and local economies grow. Supporting child care isn’t just good for families; it’s one of the smartest economic investments we can make.

As a mom who has lived this challenge, I know child care isn’t a luxury and it isn’t working for American families. In Congress, I’ll fight for solutions that make care more affordable, support the educators who provide it, and give families more options.

We’ll say goodbye to our preschool next month with grateful hearts. Our kids will probably remember the fun field trips and the art projects (we have a lifetime of hand and footprint art in case they forget). I’ll remember the people who cared for them when I couldn’t.

Every family deserves that kind of village.