![](http://blogthishere.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/69db02deda68d349945f3a57d62520e8.jpg)
Julie Clark talked to Insider about problems in early-childhood education and childcare, and why it's time for the government to step up.
![](http://blogthishere.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/3c13fa9c5b5e1bef94e1a369ccc86053.jpg)
New Mexico is the first state to permanently fund childcare. Three experts told us why it's the best way forward.
![](http://blogthishere.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/e6f8f50c7187918fc993d9f043c6dd78.jpg)
Jeff Bezos reportedly paid former Amazon execs a small fortune to run his nonprofit preschool, which only had 13 students for most of last year.
![](http://blogthishere.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/036853bc7f7f6e78b9b48de3a0fd2da0.jpg)
Danielle Zavala quit her job as a preschool teacher last summer. She now earns more even though she only spends around 20 hours a week working.
![](http://blogthishere.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/09c8ee7c0c75851dbcfd558b450baee0.jpg)
Gina Raimondo told Insider that childcare workers "are, in a very real way, the backbone of our economy" and it's time to treat them like it.
![](http://blogthishere.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/60f322b6e36ee7810df5cad28c44978b.jpg)
Tired of working for minimum wage (or close to it), tens of thousands of childcare workers across the country have quit their jobs, many of them leaving for higher-paying positions at companies desperate to address staffing shortages. Read more...
![](http://blogthishere.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/74706946e9ddf3efb3358ad6cd3b6a18.jpg)
From preschool, elementary school, junior high, high school, and all the way to college, we tested the best lunch boxes for on the go.