New evidence at the intersection of neurobiology, developmental science, and economics carries vast implications for how the responsibilities, skills, and qualities of children's early childhood teachers are thought about: (1) their influence on early brain and behavioral development; (2) their responsibility for managing many children's first encounters with peers and introducing children to a school-like environment; and (3) their own well-being as it affects their capacity to support young children's learning and healthy development. It ups the ante on what is at stake when children's earliest caregivers and teachers--two thirds of whom have children of their own--experience economic hardship, diminished social status, and other chronic stressors that all-too-often accompany early childhood employment. The affected outcomes range from early brain development to educational success to the talent pool available to future employers. This brief summarizes the evidence and recommends a proven first step towards addressing the widespread lack of return on investments made by the early care and education (ECE) workforce in their own skills and qualifications, as well as the high turnover rate in the field. The intentional policy, implemented by Louisiana, to reward educational attainment within the ECE workforce and improve earnings (without increasing parent fees), offers a model to other states, a wise economic investment in the nation's future, and an acknowledgement of the value of early childhood teachers who are expected so much of, but provided so little.