Fort Worth is a leader in early childhood education at the state level and federal level, and lawmakers should look at communities like Fort Worth for policy solutions, according to a former U.S. secretary of education.
Margaret Spellings, who previously served as the U.S. secretary of education under President George W. Bush, said providing quality childcare and early learning opportunities to families will require leaders to be “more efficient, more connected, more data-oriented (and) more outcomes orientated.” In a conversation with the Star-Telegram on Wednesday, she highlighted initiatives in Fort Worth and across Texas that could serve as models when addressing gaps in a disjointed system of public and private options for families.
“We lack the systems that really support a coordinated, efficient, effective way to navigate things, and so Fort Worth is a leader in that,” Spelling told the Star-Telegram. “There’s a lot of philanthropic investing, local and national, because you’re a go-to place and a model.”
Spellings referenced the work of Mayor Mattie Parker, who spearheaded the Blue Ribbon Action Committee on Child Care to address childcare woes exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic through federal relief funding. She also highlighted the efforts of Child Care Associates, one of the largest child development nonprofits in Texas, which implemented a pilot program to increase early educator wages and increased access to infant and toddler care through a new business model for providers.
Spellings discussed early childhood education and workforce development with Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker during Child Care Associates’ annual investors luncheon in downtown Fort Worth on Wednesday. Beforehand, she spoke with the Star-Telegram and elaborated on how the crib-to-career pipeline is crucial for economic growth and success everywhere.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker speaks with former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings during a keynote conversation on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, during Child Care Associates’ annual investors’ luncheon in downtown Fort Worth. They discussed the ties between childcare and workforce development.
“Everybody is all about workforce pathways, and I am too. But we’re not going to have successful people in advanced manufacturing, or anything, that can’t read,” Spellings said. “What’s the route to successful reading? A great, healthy pre-K start, so that you’re on track to read on grade level by the end of third grade. It’s all connected.”
Spellings is currently the president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center and previously led nonpartisan policy nonprofit Texas 2036 in the same roles. From 2016 to 2019, she was the president of the University of North Carolina system. Before serving in the Bush administration in the early 2000s — where she helped implement the No Child Left Behind Act that created accountability and testing systems in K-12 schools — she was also a senior policy adviser to Bush when he was governor of Texas.
Spellings emphasized early childhood education as a policy issue with buy-in from both sides of the political aisle. She pointed to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on the American Workforce, which is co-chaired by Bill Haslam, former Republican governor of Tennessee, and Deval Patrick, former Democratic governor of Massachusetts. In a 2026 national report, the commission noted how “upgrading federal support for paid family and medical leave, childcare, retirement security, and other tax incentives would enhance workforce stability” for workers and employers.
During the luncheon keynote discussion, Spellings elaborated on how the early learning system needs to adopt data collection measures similar to what’s been adopted by K-12 and higher education systems.
“What we need to do is be way smarter about what we know, what we’re trying to do, what our outcomes are, and resourcing it in a much smarter way. Why? Because we can’t afford to do it any other way anymore. Random acts of kindness are out,” Spellings said.