This study examines the compensation of early childhood educators in the Washington, DC, metropolitan region and considers the costs, benefits, and potential strategies associated with achieving parity with public school kindergarten teachers. It is one of several studies commissioned by the Washington Region Early Care and Education Workforce Network (the Network) to inform and support its efforts to help realize the recommendations in the Transforming the Workforce report. More generally, this report speaks to the ongoing debate over addressing persistently low ECE compensation as part of a broader strategy of professionalizing the workforce and improving quality across diverse early learning settings. (author abstract)