Childcare Landscape Study - Flipbook - Page 60
Davidson County Child Care Landscape Study Results
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workforce turnover, which can lead to child care shortages, instability, and challenges
maintaining quality within programs.12,13
By presenting data collected from child care directors about their program staff, operational
features, and other key measures, the following findings build a more complete
understanding of the ECE workforce and their programs across greater Davidson County
4,226 Early Childhood Educators Work in Greater Davidson
County, Supporting 22,184 Child Care Slots
In the Child Care Provider Survey, we asked child care center directors to report the number of
educators currently employed in their centers. Using these survey responses, we estimate that
across the 246 centers in greater Davidson County, 4,226 early childhood educators dedicate
their professional time and expertise to supporting the learning and development of the region's
youngest children. Among center-based educators, an estimated 60 percent (2,527 educators)
serve in lead teacher roles, and 40 percent (1,699 educators) serve in assistant teacher or
rotating assistant roles (see Error! Reference source not found.).
Figure 1: The Estimated Roles of the Greater Davidson County ECE Workforce (N=4,226)
1,699
(40%)
Assistant or
Rotating
Assistant Role
2,527
(60%)
Lead Role
Source: Davidson County Child Care Provider Experience Survey. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, 2025. Notes:
Estimates were extrapolated to represent the estimated full population of approximately 4,226 early childhood educators
employed across 246 center-based programs, including Head Start (N=6).
These educators work across 246 licensed center-based child care programs and collectively
support an estimated 22,184 full-day equivalent child care slots.c,14 This level of capacity
c A full-day equivalent slot is defined as the care needed for one child enrolled for a full day or one slot shared by multiple
children throughout the day (i.e., two part-time children).
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 2026
www.pn3policy.org
