Cathy Collie-Robinson is Director of the Early Childhood Education program at Durham Technical Community College. This interview was conducted the morning of Friday, January 6, 2023.

Cathy, how long have you been a member of the Durham PreK Governance Committee and what inspired you to join in the work?

I've been a member of the Durham PreK Governance Committee since it started. At the time, I was the Board Chair for Durham’s Partnership for Children, and I was invited to be a member because of that and because of my role here at Durham Tech. But I really, really wanted to be a part of the Governance Committee because universal pre-k could be an amazing opportunity to really change the whole conversation about high quality pre-k and also change the conversation about salaries. That's really been the thing that I've been pushing for the hardest and that’s something I’m still taking every opportunity with anyone I can talk to to say, “we’ve got to fix this thing we’ve got right now with salaries, because we are beyond crisis mode.”

So, with Durham PreK, I saw that county funding blending with state funding blending with all we have going on already in Durham – with the Partnership, with Head Start, with the school system - I just thought that could really be a game changer, and it has been. I think that Durham has the opportunity to be a model for how to do this blended funding in a way that works. It is complicated; so complicated. We've made it so complicated because there’s not enough money, so I also saw that Durham PreK could be another way to leverage more public finance and good will towards early education.

That’s interesting that you say it's been made more complicated by a lack of funding. I think that's a point that doesn't get made enough. Could you expand on that just a bit?

Yeah, I keep saying that, too, because you know, no one has enough money, so we're all fighting for the same small pot of money, right? And when we're all fighting for the same small pot of money, we're all doing what we can to just sustain what we've got. It's hard to work together when there's not enough money to fully fund everything that needs to be fully funded, so we’ve got this weird competition just because it's survival. Everybody in this game is wanting to do what's best for children and families in Durham. But we also have to survive, so it has created this weird dynamic, not just in Durham, I mean, it's all over. If you look at everything that's going on nationally, everything's underfunded, so everyone's just having to scramble as best they can. 

I feel like families and the community often feel that complication but don't know what's behind it. So I'm glad you brought out that point, because I think it's a good one for public education, too.

I don't think families understand it. I don't think the community at large understands it. Even our elected officials I don't think fully understand it. If you look at how much money is allocated towards public education, I think everyone would be like, “oh, that's a ton of money. There's plenty of money.” But it's really not that much money. Same thing with early childhood. You hear that the State has allocated say a million dollars to x, y, and z. That sounds like a lot of money. But when we look at how many children we have, how many families, and what the needs are, it's not enough.

I don't think we in early childhood have ever really done a good job of talking about the importance of early childhood in a way that families can understand. We also don't talk about how much it costs to really provide high quality care and to truly meet the needs of every child and every family.

Over the course of your career, you've worked in positions across the spectrum of early childhood education roles - teaching preschool, offering technical assistance and educational support for teachers, and overseeing the education of future teachers. How has this wide lens on the early childhood education field informed your perspective and participation on the Durham PreK Governance Committee? 

I'm very fortunate that I have had all of these experiences in early childhood. I was able to move around and to have opportunities that not everyone has been able to have. Because of my experiences, I bring that breadth to the Governance Committee. I’ve been in the trenches; I’ve provided the TA; and now I’m now helping future teachers, so I’ve really lived all of the aspects of what Durham PreK is trying to do. And I'm currently helping teachers navigate all of Durham PreK and all of early childhood. 

I think that real life experience helps to bring a leveling, like, “yeah these regulations and ideas are good, but here's the reality of what that looks like for a teacher in a classroom or a director in a program. It sounds great on paper, but it might be challenging, and this is why.” I really try to be the voice of my students and of the teachers and of the directors. We have wonderful directors on the Governance Committee, and they are great at advocating for the profession. I just like to support that and provide [insight into] what teachers are saying, what they're feeling, and how things are affecting them. 

So you use the opportunity with your depth of experience to align your ideas and your goals with what teachers actually experience and with what directors actually experience in their programs. 

Yeah, and with Durham PreK, having the county support to then pay the teachers the same thing that a teacher in the public school system is going to get, that's been amazing. To be able to help push that through by saying, “the only way we're going to get teachers to do Durham PreK, and the only way we're going to have centers do Durham PreK is to get the salary to match the school system.” It's just been really incredible to see that and to know that we're keeping great early childhood teachers in early childhood and not losing them to the school system. 

So compensation being more than just current quality of life but the actual future of the field, as well.

Right. Yeah, definitely.

Is there anything we didn’t cover that you feel it’s important to add and for the community to know about?

I think [having] the community understand the fact that Durham County, the Commissioners, having provided this funding is a big deal. I don't know that everybody understands that. I know it's a big deal, because I hear from my colleagues across the State and other community colleges where their communities aren’t supporting early childhood. And because their communities aren't supporting early childhood, their colleges aren't supporting early childhood. There’s a lot of, “Why should we offer early childhood courses? What’s the importance of early childhood?”

In Durham, everybody knows early childhood is important. How all of that has worked together, because the county is saying early childhood is important, it’s a really big deal. I would love for the community to remember that and to thank the County Commissioners when they see them. And to not assume this is forever funding, that this is something we have to continue advocating for and being aware of – the importance of that funding.