Childcare Landscape Study - Flipbook - Page 61
Davidson County Child Care Landscape Study Results
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corresponds to approximately five slots per educator across greater Davidson County (see Brief
1 for more details on greater Davidson County9s child care supply).d
Greater Davidson County Early Childhood Educators Vary Widely in
Their Education and Experience Levels
Center-based programs in greater Davidson County employ educators across a range of
education levels and years of experience.e We estimate that, on average across programs,
approximately one-third (36%) of educators hold a bachelor's degree or higher, one-third
(36%) have a high school diploma or less, and the remaining (27%) have some college or an
associate degree, based on data provided on the Child Care Provider Survey (see Figure 2).
Greater Davidson County education levels are broadly consistent with national estimates,
which indicate that approximately 30 percent of center-based teaching staff hold a bachelor's
degree or higher.15 We also estimate that, on average across programs, just 5 percent of
educators hold a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, well below the national
estimate of approximately 29 percent of the ECE workforce holding a CDA credential.16
Similarly, center-based programs in greater Davidson County employ educators at various stages
of their careers. In the average center-based program, on average, approximately one-third (34%)
of early childhood educators have 3 years or less of experience, and approximately one-third
(33%) have 9 or more years of experience.
Figure 2: The Estimated Average Composition of a Center’s ECE Workforce in Greater Davidson County
Source: Davidson County Child Care Provider Experience Survey. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, 2025. Notes:
Estimates reflect the weighted average workforce composition within center-based programs in the population (240 programs,
excluding 6 Head Start programs). For each responding center (n=112), the proportion of educators in each category was
calculated and then weighted by licensed capacity groupings. Categories reflect original survey response options, with minor
grouping for clarity. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
d Estimates reflect weighted survey responses scaled to the population of licensed center-based child care programs.
Analysis of public pre-K programs and their workforce is outside the scope of this study and therefore any additional
public pre-K educators are not included in these estimates. Full-day equivalent slots are calculated using director-reported
enrollment and open slots. See the online Methods Appendix for additional detail.
e Estimates of educator education and experience levels across center-based programs exclude Head Start programs, which
operate under separate credential requirements.
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 2026
www.pn3policy.org
