Click on the players below to listen to the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Michigan Public Service Announcements:

The Need:

Over 20 years of research and studies indicate that the child care workforce is in a crisis. Teachers continue to leave the field in droves, looking for better paying jobs. Early childhood programs find it increasingly difficult to attract and retain qualified staff. To keep programs affordable for families, many early childhood programs are subsidizing their rates through the forgone wages of their teachers.

Studies conducted in the past 10 years have consistently indicated a link between a well-educated, well-compensated staff to program quality and positive outcomes for children.

As the problems of low compensation, high turnover and insufficient education continue to plague the child care workforce on a national level, the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project provides a structure for a comprehensive sequence of early childhood professional development opportunities in a growing number of states. The project recognizes the diverse educational backgrounds of the early childhood workforce and provides scholarship programs appropriate for child care providers with no formal education beyond high school as well as scholarships designed to provide education for degree seeking participants.

T.E.A.C.H. is a unique scholarship opportunity because it ties education to compensation. Not only does it pay for most of the cost of tuition, books and travel, it also often requires and supports paid release time. In addition, increased compensation is awarded upon attainment of a prescribed number of credit hours. T.E.A.C.H. thus not only impacts individuals, but impacts child care programs by addressing the retention of staff in child care programs. In addition, T.E.A.C.H. creates a demand for coursework that builds the capacity of educational institutions in local communities.

Child Care Services Association (CCSA), in North Carolina, ensures the quality and consistency of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project by acting as a third party evaluator, monitoring all licensed T.E.A.C.H. programs. Each state that participates signs a Letter of Agreement and follows a license agreement.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® is an outcomes based program. Detailed reports on educational attainment, increased compensation and retention rates as well as program costs are calculated on a regular basis.

At-A-Glance

The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project is an umbrella for scholarship programs providing educational opportunities to directors, teachers and family child care providers in early care and education programs.

T.E.A.C.H. is founded on four principles:

Partnership: Through a collective investment with individual participants and sponsoring child care centers as partners, T.E.A.C.H. creates a greater acceptance of ongoing support for professional development and the linkage between that and better compensation.

Diversity: T.E.A.C.H. strives to reach the early care and education program workforce through the educational level of participants, the settings they work in, geographic location, age and ethnicity.

Use of existing systems: Scholarships are provided to attend existing, participating community colleges and universities with early childhood programs.

Collaboration: T.E.A.C.H. engages the entire early childhood community to ensure access to formal education and emphasizes the critical link between education and compensation and the needs of the workforce.

T.E.A.C.H. is comprised of four components:

Educational scholarships: support for tuition and books, a travel stipend and often paid release time.

Formal education: a set amount of college coursework leading to a credential or degree.

Compensation: providing an incentive in the form of a raise or a bonus.

Commitment: requiring a commitment to remain at their current program or in the field for a specified period of time.

T.E.A.C.H. offers a variety of scholarships to meet the needs of the diverse early childhood workforce. (Scholarships that are available in Michigan are described in detail on this website.)

The National Picture

Now in its second decade, the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project has grown from a small pilot project in North Carolina to over 44% of the states across the country. For more information on participating T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project states, visit CCSA’s website at: www.childcareservices.org.

Who administers T.E.A.C.H.?

Non-profit organizations with experience delivering services to the child care community on a statewide basis can administer the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project. Only one organization per state is licensed and that organization must not have a conflict of interest with the providers of recipients of scholarships. In Michigan, the Michigan 4C Association is the license holder.

How is T.E.A.C.H. funded?

Nationally, T.E.A.C.H. is funded through a variety of sources. In Michigan, T.E.A.C.H. is funded by the Early Childhood Investment Corporation with quality set aside money (Child Care and Development Block Grant).

The Results

T.E.A.C.H. measures success through data collection.

T.E.A.C.H. impacts recipients and sponsoring centers.

T.E.A.C.H. recipients are earning college credits toward degrees in early childhood education.

T.E.A.C.H. impacts the turnover rate. Teachers have seen their annual earnings increase by an average of 3-21% nationally.

T.E.A.C.H. increases the capacity of individual community colleges and universities to offer early childhood degree programs.

Children are impacted by the increased education, compensation and commitment to the field by their caregivers.

(Citation: Information is provided by Child Care Services Association in North Carolina)