California Community College Early Childhood Educators



-228600-457200Community College Role in Cradle to Career EducationSpotlight on Early Childhood Education The California Department of Education recently reorganized to create a new division serving children birth through third grade. This aligns with evidence from science that the road to success in school and in the workplace begins at birth. How we care for and support the learning of all young children matters, irrespective of where those young children spend their days, whether at home with their families or in schools. California’s community colleges play a big role in helping young children get started along the education continuum. Within the California community colleges, there are 102 child development / early childhood education departments, charged with preparing the early childhood education teacher workforce. Allied with these departments are 93 instructional lab schools that provide child care services to college students, while simultaneously providing high quality learning experiences for young children and an instructional lab for early childhood student teachers. The cost-effectiveness of these programs, when measured across these three sectors, is unrivalled within the community college system. Each dollar spent on a community college early childhood instructional lab pays off in triplicate:Young children receive quality learning experiences, aligned with California Department of Education standards.College students successfully complete certificates and degrees, with child care needs met on campus.Students preparing to be teachers experience practicum/clinical work with the full range of ages, birth to 8.Education that prepares the foundation for college students of the future:Approximately 9,000 children are enrolled in the 98 instructional lab schools in California community colleges. Another 7,500 are on our waiting lists. Most prioritize low-income families for enrollment, through contracts with the California Department of Education.Student service that leads to student success:Approximately 9,000 college students with young children complete courses, certificates, and degrees because they can rely on the childcare services of these 93 instructional lab schools. Many testify that without these services, they would dropout of school, veer off the career pathway, and relinquish their goal of a certificate or degree.Another 7500 community college students, whose children are on the wait lists for campus childcare and potentially unable to find care, are put at risk of not succeeding in coursework and certificate and degree attainment.Career preparation for teachers:With 1,400 faculty, 102 child development departments, located in every community in California, serve over 50,000 child development majors. The community colleges are the engine that drives workforce development for the growing career field of early childhood education.Child Development/Early Childhood Education is the largest issuer of vocational certificates in the California Community College system (4,363 in 2010-11).Child Development/Early Childhood Education is the second largest issuer of total credit awards in the California Community College system (6,222 in 2010-11).A unified, aligned course of study of 24-units currently exists within the system and is being expanded to include an additional seven courses.The early childhood instructional lab schools are the primary practicum placement site for most California school districts, serving children birth to 8.Recent budget crises reveal the tenuous nature of the funding structure for these cost-effective instructional lab schools. Although most rely on Department of Education contracts to provide preschool education to young children, this funding does not support the additional services rendered by these programs – preparation of the early childhood teacher workforce and college student success. As a result many of these programs have closed and many more are threatened with closure. Student success is put at risk, as thousands of student parents fail to complete their course of study, with no access to childcare. Closure of these programs puts community college early childhood teacher preparation programs at risk. Loss of the practicum site means departments are unable to offer one of the core courses required by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. And last, but not least, the next generation of college students, children now 2-5 years of age, lose access to high-quality learning programs, designed to prepare them for success in school. Facts to Consider in Assuring Cradle to Career Success within the Community College SystemThe state and local districts have already invested over $200 million in state-of-the-art facilities for community college instructional lab schools in every corner of California.California Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson recently introduced SB 837, a bill that would give every 4-year-old in California an opportunity to experience a high-quality, part-day educational program. If this legislation is enacted, the early childhood departments within the community colleges will be tasked with preparing an expanded workforce, with each teacher prepared through a comprehensive course of study that includes a supervised practicum course. To adequately prepare teachers for young children, new legislation such as SB 837 must be designed to ensure that the community college instructional labs will be funded by the California Department of Education to offer a full-range of full-day early childhood education services to young children and their families, and in so doing, assure a sustainable funding mechanism that recognizes the unique nature and the full range of clients, from cradle to career, served by these programs. ................
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