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December 2, 2022: PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Informational Webinar Session

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December 2, 2022: PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Informational Webinar Session

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AB 1363 develops procedures to identify and report data on dual-language learners at state preschools, and SB 393 improves access to child care for migrant agricultural workers by aligning voucher-based child care programs.

California Comeback Plan achieves free, high-quality universal Pre-K for all four-year-olds by 2025 and creates college savings accounts for 3.7 million kids.

Universal Prekindergarten FAQs

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding California state law relating to Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) and Transitional Kindergarten (TK).

The California Department of Education (CDE) and State Superintendent of Public Instruction fully support the Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) and Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program.

NOTE: The CDE is working to integrate earlier TK Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) into the broader UPK FAQs.

Universal Prekindergarten Planning & Implementation Grant

The Universal PreKindergarten Planning & Implementation (UPK P&I) Grant is a state early learning planning and capacity building initiative with the goal of expanding access for preschool-age students to PreKindergarten (Pre-K) programs at local educational agencies (LEAs). Grant funds may pay for costs associated with creating or expanding California State Preschool Programs or Transitional Kindergarten (TK) programs, or establish or strengthen partnerships with other providers of Pre-K education within the LEA, including Head Start programs.

Universal PreKindergarten Office Hours

Office Hours to provide technical assistance about Universal PreKindergarten to local educational agencies.

The Early Education Division (EED) is excited to announce weekly Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) office hours. The EED will be hosting virtual office hours targeted for local education agencies (school districts, charter schools, county offices of education) so that attendees can come and ask questions and receive technical assistance about UPK implementation. The first 15 minutes will be a quick review of UPK and latest developments. Registration will be limited to 500 participants per session and will be open to all regions of California. Please register ahead of time.

Head Start & TK
Partnership Toolkit

The following resources will help you reach out to your local partners including state preschool programs, transitional kindergarten staff and administrators and other early education partners to begin discussions about local planning and community coordination.

Letter Template

Download this letter template to introduce yourself to district leadership and propose a collaborative partnership. Make sure to fill in all the blanks with your program information and use your own letterhead.

Partnership Crosswalk

Organized by the requirements of the Budget Act of 2022, this Crosswalk document notes the relevant Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) law and Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) regulations, and then provides ideas and recommendations for Head Start and Local Education Agency (LEA) administrators to consider as they partner.

Partnership Glossary

Local Partnership Models

This document models 8 different partnership models for the 2022-23 year including layered, commingled and blended programs examples. (Coming soon!)

Slide Deck Template

Use this customizable PowerPoint template for meetings with district staff.

Use this link to share or download the video.

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AB 1363 develops procedures to identify and report data on dual-language learners at state preschools, and SB 393 improves access to child care for migrant agricultural workers by aligning voucher-based child care programs. California Comeback Plan achieves free, high-quality universal Pre-K for all four-year-olds by 2025 and creates college savings accounts for 3.7 million kids.

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WPLA Early Care and Education Professional Development Landscape Analysis for LA County

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WPLA Early Care and Education Professional Development Landscape Analysis for LA County

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Field-test California’s new and exciting Observation Protocol for Teachers of English Learners (OPTEL)

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Field-test California’s new and exciting Observation Protocol for Teachers of English Learners (OPTEL)

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The OPTEL is an observation protocol designed to meet the requirements of California Assembly Bill 1808 (Ting et al.) Chapter 32, Statutes of 2018, amending California Education Code ( EC) Section 313.3 . Successful implementation of the OPTEL will help move California closer to statewide standardization of exit criteria to meet Title III, Part A, Section 3111(b)(2)(A) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

A validation study will be conducted to ensure the protocol appropriately:

Assesses the intended target language constructs

Demonstrates a meaningful relationship to the performance levels for the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC)

Assesses classroom language use

Reflects student progress toward attaining targeted constructs

OPTEL General Information

The design of the OPTEL ensures:

Ease of use by all (content area and specialized) teachers at all grade levels.
Teachers use the OPTEL to:

Provide evidence that contributes to reclassification decisions for all English learners, including those with Individualized Education Plans (IEP)

Evaluate student use of English while engaging in academic content learning, including interactive academic language use with peers

Assess language practices across a range of proficiency levels

Alignment with the English language development standards and the ELPAC performance levels.

To also be used:

By teachers as a formative assessment tool in order to support student progress toward English proficiency.

In consultation with parents of English learners regarding their progress toward proficiency.

By institutions of higher education that enroll students in teacher preparation programs.

For further information on the purposes and characteristics of the OPTEL, please review the OPTEL Information Session (PDF) .

OPTEL Advisory Committee

The California Department of Education (CDE), in collaboration with WestEd, consults with the OPTEL advisory committee (OAC). The OAC, comprised of 28 educators and English Language Development (ELD) experts from across California, includes current content area teachers at different grade levels, English language development teachers, bilingual teachers, special education teachers, and experts with demonstrated experience in observing and documenting pupil academic language practices as well as in developing and administering assessments for English learners.

OPTEL Timeline

On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The subsequent school closures resulted in the decision to halt the field test and validation study. Senate Bill 820, signed by the Governor on September 18, 2020, extended the timeline to complete the field test and validation study to December 31, 2022.

The OPTEL will be brought before the State Board of Education (SBE) in fall of 2022 to be considered for approval as the statewide standardized protocol for Criterion 2 (teacher evaluation of English learner students) and Criterion 3 (parent opinion and consultation) for the purpose of reclassification.

December 2018: Contract to co-develop, pilot, and validate an observation protocol to support reclassification decisions for English learner reclassification Criteria 2-3

February 2020: Field test activities began

March 2020: Field test halted due to COVID-19 school closures

June 2020: Project completion date extended to December 2022 and field test postponed until 2021-2022 school year

July‒December 2021: Recruitment/training for field test

Spring 2022 (January-April): Spring field test

May 2022: Interim validation study executive summary report

June 2022: OAC Meeting #3 (in-person) to review comprehensive report summarizing participating teacher feedback from the 2022 field testing, a summary of OAC discussion, and recommended edits to the OPTEL

July 2022: Final validation study executive summary report

September 2022: Present OPTEL tool to SBE for approval

December 2022: OPTEL final guidance documents, parent informational tools, and resources completed

OPTEL Updates

Information that provides an update on the development of the OPTEL.

Questions: Language Policy & Leadership Office | 916-319-0845

Last Reviewed: Tuesday, August 3, 2021

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The OPTEL is an observation protocol designed to meet the requirements of California Assembly Bill 1808 (Ting et al.) Chapter 32, Statutes of 2018, amending California Education Code ( EC) Section 313.3 . Successful implementation of the OPTEL will help move California closer to statewide standardization of exit criteria to meet Title III, Part A, Section 3111(b)(2)(A) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

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This toolkit is designed to give state policymakers and education leaders a set of strategies, tools, and resources to advance whole child policy and systems change. A whole child education prioritizes the full scope of a child's developmental needs-social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and psychological, as well as academic-to ensure that all children are able to reach their full potential. A whole child approach is built on the understanding that students' education and life outcomes depend on their access to positive relationships inside and outside of school, a safe learning environment, and deeper learning opportunities.

The whole child approach builds on decades of research from the science of learning and development that defines the environments and experiences that children need to thrive. It also draws on the policy agenda set by the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, which brought together leaders from education, policy, research, business, and the military to make recommendations on how to ensure that students' social, emotional, and cognitive development is centered in schools.

Shifting toward a whole child education has far-reaching implications for our education system, requiring greater collaboration to promote children's learning, well-being, and healthy development. The Whole Child Policy Toolkit outlines how policymakers can support schools, districts, and communities to make these shifts and to meet the needs of every child efficiently, effectively, and most importantly, equitably. It provides the evidence base for high-quality whole child practices; policy strategies and actions that states can take; examples of state-level policies and initiatives; and a library of resources to help state policymakers advance policy and systems change.

The Whole Child Policy Toolkit was produced by the Learning Policy Institute with input from more than a dozen Whole Child Policy Table partners and several individual organizations and experts. This toolkit is organized into five key elements, shown in the figure and described below.

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This toolkit is designed to give state policymakers and education leaders a set of strategies, tools, and resources to advance whole child policy and systems change. A whole child education prioritizes the full scope of a child's developmental needs-social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and psychological, as well as academic-to ensure that all children are able to reach their full potential.

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With the passage of the 2021-2022 California budget, historic new and expanded investments support a universal preschool through a mixed-delivery system, including: California State Preschool Program (CSPP) CSPP providers can access expansion funding to serve 3-year old children Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Transitional kindergarten will be expanded, with full implementation of universal TK slated for the 2025-26 school year.

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PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Webpage

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PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Webpage

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The PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential focuses on developmentally appropriate practices for young children in grades PK through 3. PK-3 teachers are expected to design, implement, and facilitate learning activities throughout this grade span which engage students according to their developmental levels. Classroom learning activities need to take into consideration and value each child's cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic, and cultural experiences, and other relevant background characteristics, assets and abilities as well as any area(s) of special needs. Developmentally appropriate practices foster young children's joyful learning and help maximize the opportunities for all children to achieve their full potential.

This credential recognizes and values the rich background and extensive experience candidates who come from current and/or prior work in the ECE field bring to their preparation programs. Taken together, these prior work experiences, knowledge and wisdom can provide foundational preparation in child development and early childhood education to support candidates' transition from the Child Development Permit system to earning the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential and serving as a teacher in a PK-3 ECE classroom setting.

PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Handbook - includes the Authorization Statement, Program Standards, and Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs)

Clinical Practice Guide for PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential - includes guidance on all elements of clinical practice, including placement, supervision, equivalency options and more.

PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Survey Questions FAQs - includes a Q and A document that was developed to respond to the questions received at our PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Informational Webinar Session held on December 2, 2022.

Important Message:
While the Commission has begun accepting IPR Intent to Submit Forms and IPR program proposals for the PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) credential, the regulatory packet submitted to the Office of Administrative Law is still moving through the approval process. The packet will establish the credential requirements in law. Therefore, no PK-3 ECE credential program can be given full approval by the Committee on Accreditation until the regulatory package has been approved. This website will provide updates on approval of the regulatory package and information will also be made available in the PSD Enews.

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PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential

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The PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential focuses on developmentally appropriate practices for young children in grades PK through 3. PK-3 teachers are expected to design, implement, and facilitate learning activities throughout this grade span which engage students according to their developmental levels.

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PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Standards

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PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Standards

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The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing awards credentials and certificates on the basis of completion of programs that meet Standards for Educator Preparation and Standards for Educator Competence.

For each type of professional credential in education, the Commission has developed and adopted standards which are based upon recent research and the expert advice of many professional educators. Each standard specifies a level of quality and effectiveness that the Commission requires from programs offering academic and professional preparation in education. The Commission enforces its standards by evaluating approved programs across California through an objective process conducted by carefully selected and trained professional educators to ensure that the standards are applied consistently and rigorously.
Also see: Consultant contact information for technical assistance in a specific program area
The PDF file provided next to each program is a full document containing additional information about the background of each program and corresponding auxiliary materials. The Microsoft (MS) Word file contains only the program standards or guidelines associated with each program in addition to any applicable preconditions, performance expectations, and/or program planning prompts.

Teaching Credentials

Preliminary General Education - Multiple and Single Subject Teaching Credential

PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential

Preliminary Special Education Teaching Credential

Authorizations to Teach English Learners

Teacher Induction

Specialist and Added Authorizations Credentials

Services Credentials

Designated Subjects Teaching Credentials

Early Childhood Education

Experimental Program Standards

The Experimental Program option is designed to encourage innovations in educator preparation and investigation of those innovations, with the aim of increasing the profession's understanding of professional learning and improving professional practice for the benefit of all students in California. [2008]

When new standards are developed, prior standards continue through a transitional "sunset" period. During the sunset period candidates can be accepted to a program which meets the new standards or the prior standards. However, once a new program has been approved, an institution may not admit new candidates to the old program. At the end of the sunset period, no new candidates can be admitted to programs approved under a prior set of standards. Those programs must reapply to meet the newly adopted standards. The standards under which the Commission has approved any program govern the candidates' requirements for obtaining a credential.

Preliminary Teacher Preparation [2013]

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The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing awards credentials and certificates on the basis of completion of programs that meet Standards for Educator Preparation and Standards for Educator Competence. For each type of professional credential in education, the Commission has developed and adopted standards which are based upon recent research and the expert advice of many professional educators.

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TK Requirements and Possible Penalties Presentation_v2

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Cuesta College course offerings for credentialed teachers

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Cuesta College course offerings for credentialed teachers

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Detailed description of PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential (Agenda item from October CTC meeting)

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Detailed description of PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential (Agenda item from October CTC meeting)

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June 30, 2022: Coming Together to Support High-Quality P-3 Teacher Preparation in California

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June 30, 2022: Coming Together to Support High-Quality P-3 Teacher Preparation in California

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California County Superintendents Announces New Name and Logo

Watch this video from our President, Los Angeles County Superintendent, Dr. Debra Duardo making a huge announcement about our new name, and giving you the first glimpse of our new logo!

May Revision to the Governor's Budget

Statement from Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools and CA County Superintendents President, Dr. Debra Duardo

CA County Superintendents joins public media stations across California to launch California Public Media Education Service

Public Safety Power Shutoff Guide for California County Offices of Education

Download the Guide

Universal Prekindergarten Planning Toolkit

Download the Toolkit

2022-23 CA County Superintendents LCAP Approval Manual

Download Now

Improving Performance of Students with Disabilities

Download the 2019 Handbook

California County Superintendents Arts Initiative

Learn more about our arts initiative

Through a system of 11 service regions, the California County Superintendents provides the organizational mechanism for the 58 County Superintendents of Schools to design and implement statewide programs to identify and promote quality cost-effective educational practices and services, and provide support to school districts.
View Map

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California County Superintendents: Promote | Influence | Advocate

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Watch this video from our President, Los Angeles County Superintendent, Dr. Debra Duardo making a huge announcement about our new name, and giving you the first glimpse of our new logo!

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UPK Planning & Implementation Grant Funding Results 

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UPK Planning & Implementation Grant Funding Results 

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The Universal Prekindergarten Planning & Implementation Grant is a state early learning planning and capacity building initiative with the goal of expanding access for preschool-age students to prekindergarten programs at local educational agencies.

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Fresno State TK Courses and Certificate 

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Fresno State TK Courses and Certificate 

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Preparing ECE Teachers for California's Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten and ECE Programs

The Early Childhood Education (ECE) 24-Unit Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Certificate Program offers intensive preparation for teachers who have, or are obtaining a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and want to enhance their ECE qualifications for teaching in TK or K classrooms. The program consists of 24 units of required ECE coursework. The ECE 24-Unit TK Certificate Program is a learning community of ECE professionals who:

Demonstrate knowledge, skills and dispositions that promote development and learning for children attending TK, Kindergarten, Preschool and other ECE programs.

Create developmentally appropriate and responsive early learning environments that address common core standards for state-funded programs

Are responsive to ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity

Have expertise in English language development

Utilize strategies to include children with a variety of special needs

Build strong relationships with families and communities

Have collaborative partnerships with schools and service agencies

Apply current ECE research to ECE practice and implement the latest technology

Engage in reflection, documentation, self-assessment and life-long learning

Advocate for children, families and quality ECE practices

Fall semester: Spring semester: Certificate Completed in Two Years
Required Courses

The ECE 24-Unit TK Certificate Program has eight required courses for the TK Program that can be completed in less than a year. The TK courses are offered through the Division of Continuing and Global Education (CGE). ECE graduate students admitted to Fresno State may be allowed to substitute some of the courses in their graduate studies leading to the MA degree as indicated in parentheses.

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Preparing ECE Teachers for California's Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten and ECE Programs The Early Childhood Education (ECE) 24-Unit Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Certificate Program offers intensive preparation for teachers who have, or are obtaining a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and want to enhance their ECE qualifications for teaching in TK or K classrooms. The program consists of 24 units of required ECE coursework.

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Families

Learn about quality early learning and care and connect to your local Resource and Referral Agency to help you find high-quality child care.

Child Care Providers

Find resources and support to assist you in your commitment to quality early learning and care.

Quality Partners

Access Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) resources (for coaches and trainers, higher education faculty, assessors and observers, and QCC consortium members).

Policymakers

Access information to help communicate the value and importance of quality early learning and care.

Quality Counts California (QCC) is a statewide effort to strengthen California's early learning and care system to support young children and their families, including:

Provides access to tools and resources for quality partners like QRIS administrators, coaches, trainers, and higher education faculty.

Links child care providers to resources and support to assist them in their commitment to quality early learning and care.

Informs parents and families about the importance of quality early learning, and helps them identify quality early learning and care environments (i.e. family child care home or child care centers).

Offers information and research to help policymakers communicate the value and importance of quality early learning and care.

Quality Counts

QCC focuses on quality early learning and care experiences because those experiences build the foundation for skills children need in school, work, and life. (Reference: Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child)

Quality early learning and care programs have environments, relationships, interactions, and activities to support all children's growth and development to prepare them for success in school and life.

Research continues to show that children who attend a quality early learning and care program are more likely to do well in school and less likely to drop out or need remedial supports later in their education.

More About QCC

Learn more about how Quality Counts California (QCC) fits within the landscape of early learning and care for children.

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Quality Counts California is a statewide system of locally-implemented quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS), which helps to connect parents and families to high-quality early learning and care programs, and ensures that infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children have quality early learning experiences in their local communities.

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Attention Providers
Posted by Order of The Public Employment Relations Board regarding Unfair Practice Case No SA-CE-1-N
The 2022-23 State Budget authorized:

Waived family fees until June 30, 2023: CCB 22-14

Reimbursement Based on Enrollment Rather than Attendance, otherwise referred to as "hold harmless": CCB 22-19

If you have outstanding concerns or have not received your waiver of family fees or reimbursements based on enrollment, please call your assigned consultant. You can find their contact information on our contact webpage.

To help us research and resolve your matter, please make an inquiry to your assigned consultant by phone or email and provide as much of the following as possible:

Nature of the concern (i.e., Agency's noncompliance with family fee waiver, hold harmless, etc.)

Agency name and county

Any previous communications with the Agency (when you called, who you spoke to, agency response, etc.)

Provider contact info (name, phone and/or email)

Provider Resources

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Posted by Order of The Public Employment Relations Board regarding Unfair Practice Case No SA-CE-1-N The 2022-23 State Budget authorized: Waived family fees until June 30, 2023: CCB 22-14 Reimbursement Based on Enrollment Rather than Attendance, otherwise referred to as "hold harmless": CCB 22-19 If you have outstanding concerns or have not received your waiver of family fees or reimbursements based on enrollment, please call your assigned consultant.

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*Association of CA School Administrators

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*Association of CA School Administrators

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The Association of California School Administrators is the driving force for an equitable, world-class education system, and the development and support of inspired educational leaders who meet the diverse needs of all California students.

Share your legislative priorities with ACSA.

Read the current issue of ACSA's weekly newspaper online.

Find a workshop in your area on a topic that interests you.

Learn how you can submit your articles for publication.

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ACSA | Association of California School Administrators

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The Association of California School Administrators is the driving force for an equitable, world-class education system, and the development and support of inspired educational leaders who meet the diverse needs of all California students. Share your legislative priorities with ACSA. Read the current issue of ACSA's weekly newspaper online.

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Search for a Course | Child Development Training Consortium

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While this website will not lead you to ALL coursework available, in which to continue your professional development, it will provide information on an array of high quality online ECE/child development courses.

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Building a Well-Qualified TK Workforce in CA: Needs and Opportunities

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Building a Well-Qualified TK Workforce in CA: Needs and Opportunities

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In 2021, California made major new investments to advance its commitment to early childhood education through universal preschool. One important investment was extending state funding for transitional kindergarten (TK), previously just for older 4-year-olds, to all 4-year-olds by 2025–26. To ensure the quality of new preschool investments, California must recruit and prepare a sufficient number of qualified teachers in TK and other early childhood programs—a challenge in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, when school districts and early childhood programs are facing significant staffing shortages.

In 2025–26, more than 300,000 students are likely to enroll in TK. To meet this demand, districts will need to hire between 11,900 and 15,600 additional lead TK teachers by 2025–26.

This report provides estimates for how many TK teachers California will need through 2025–26 and discusses potential pathways to support a diverse, well-prepared workforce, both in TK and in other early childhood programs. We also offer recommendations that state policymakers could follow to stabilize, support, and expand the broader early childhood workforce and build pathways for racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse educators.

Projecting the Need for TK Teachers: Summary of Findings

Specifically, the study finds the following:

In 2025–26, more than 300,000 students are likely to enroll in TK.

To meet this demand, districts will need to hire between 11,900 and 15,600 additional lead teachers by 2025–26.

California will need at least 16,000 to 19,700 assistant TK teachers by 2025–26.

Growth in TK teacher demand is not linear over time, with particularly sharp increases in 2023–24 and 2025–26.

County differences in TK uptake rates and population size translate into varying hiring expectations, as TK uptake has historically varied greatly across counties, and the five largest counties (Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino) account for more than half of the total estimated increased demand by full implementation.

Building a Qualified, Diverse TK Workforce

These estimates show that California has a substantial, urgent need for new lead and assistant TK teachers. To meet this need, California must develop new teachers and draw upon educators currently in the workforce. Yet California has different requirements for lead TK teachers and other early childhood educators, which will create challenges in moving experienced early educators into the TK workforce. Teachers working in state-funded and private preschools must have at least a Child Development Associate permit, which requires 12 units of early childhood education (ECE) and 50 days of work experience but does not require a degree. By contrast, lead TK teachers must have a Multiple Subject teaching credential, which requires a bachelor’s degree and completing an accredited teacher credentialing program. By August 2023, TK teachers must additionally have 24 units of early childhood coursework, a Child Development Teaching permit, or equivalent experience. The state is also currently considering the adoption of a revised ECE Specialist Credential specific to the needs of children in preschool through grade 3. To work as an assistant TK teacher, an individual needs to hold a high school degree and (at minimum) pass an assessment demonstrating basic skills and pedagogical knowledge. However, there are no requirements for early childhood coursework or experience for assistant TK teachers.

To build this new qualified, diverse TK and preschool workforce, California can draw on several potential pools of educators or candidates:

Current Multiple Subject credential holders, including current elementary teachers and out-of-state credential holders, can teach while earning the 24 units of ECE required to teach TK by August 2023.

Current early childhood educators with a bachelor’s degree and recent graduates of ECE bachelor’s degree programs are good candidates for fast-tracked paths into lead TK teacher positions, since they have experience working with young children, already meet several requirements needed to earn a credential, and may be attracted by the support and compensation offered for teaching TK.

Current early childhood educators without a bachelor’s degree have experience working with children and are good candidates for apprenticeship programs and degree pathway programs that lead efficiently to a bachelor’s degree and, eventually, a teaching credential.

New candidates that districts might tap to fill assistant TK teacher positions and teach in other ECE programs include recent high school graduates, parents of school-aged children who are reentering the workforce, career changers, and more. Districts might additionally build dual-enrollment pathways that allow students to take ECE-related coursework for college credit while in high school, and support pathways to a bachelor’s degree and a teaching credential.

Recommendations

California will need to take steps to produce an adequate supply of effective early educators in the short and long term. State policymakers can take the following six steps to stabilize, support, and expand the broader early childhood workforce and build pathways for racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse educators.

1. Clearly map out and communicate career pathways into TK and other ECE programs.

2. Develop high-quality pathways into teaching TK that are tailored to the needs of experienced early educators.

3. Provide grants to institutions of higher education to develop new credentialing programs for preschool to 3rd grade educators.

4. Set appropriate requirements for assistant TK teachers to ensure these educators are prepared to support learning and development.

5. Make new investments in the broader early educator workforce beyond TK.

6. Collect new data to monitor ECE workforce needs, including how many teachers are currently teaching TK or what background they have.

Building a Well-Qualified Transitional Kindergarten Workforce in California: Needs and Opportunities by Hanna Melnick, Emma García, and Melanie Leung--Gagné is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This research was supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and the Ballmer Group. Core operating support for LPI is provided by the Heising-Simons Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Sandler Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett. We are grateful to them for their generous support. The ideas voiced here are those of the authors and not those of our funders.

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Building a Well-Qualified Transitional Kindergarten Workforce in California: Needs and Opportunities

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California’s major new investments in early childhood education come with a demand for a greatly expanded ECE workforce. Research shows how the state can meet that demand.

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Regulations for new PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential (Agenda item from August CTC meeting)

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Regulations for new PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential (Agenda item from August CTC meeting)

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The Hechinger Report embarked on a reporting project to explore the often-overlooked yet deeply consequential role of play in child development. Although play is natural for children, opportunities to play in a school setting can be minimal and uneven. In this series, we examined the importance of play and highlighted efforts around the country to infuse play into the school day.

Research shows play has enormous learning and social benefits across all ages

More Hechinger Report stories from past years about play and physical activity at school:

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The Power of Play - The Hechinger Report

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The Hechinger Report embarked on a reporting project to explore the often-overlooked yet deeply consequential role of play in child development. Although play is natural for children, opportunities to play in a school setting can be minimal and uneven. In this series, we examined the importance of play and highlighted efforts around the country to [...]

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More information about California and Early Learning Apprenticeship: https://ecepts.org/

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Early Care & Education Pathways to Success

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Why ECEPTS? Why Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeship is a respected, tried-and-true approach to training low-income job seekers and placing them on sustainable career pathways while supplying employers with workers who can meet their precise workforce needs.

Building on the apprenticeship tradition, ECEPTS Apprenticeships represent state-of-the-art, replicable models that uniquely address the needs of the ECE workforce by integrating on-the-job training, coaching, no-cost college coursework, cohort learning and increased compensation.

Almost entirely female and in the majority women of color, the ECE workforce includes significant numbers of recent immigrants, working mothers, and first-generation college students who face challenges and barriers to success common among non-traditional students and workers.

To ameliorate these challenges, ECEPTS Apprenticeships incorporate research-based supports that result in consistently high rates of program completion.

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Early Care & Education Pathways to Success (ECEPTS)

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ECEPTS' mission is to advance the rigorous professional development and economic well-being of the Early Care and Education workforce so that all children can receive the full benefits of their early learning and care experiences.

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The Association of CA Community College Teacher Education Programs (ACCCTEP)

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The Association of CA Community College Teacher Education Programs (ACCCTEP)

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Mission

Membership

Mission

The Association of California Community Colleges Teacher Education Programs (ACCCTEP) promotes the establishment, advancement and sustainability of quality teacher education in California community colleges as an essential component of higher education teacher preparation programs.

Vision

Membership

Mission

To increase the number and quality of lower division teacher preparation programs in California, that are focused on increasing the number of students from diverse backgrounds and support these students to dedicate themselves to the field of education through high quality academic preparation integrated with multiple early field experiences and early employment.

Membership

Membership

Membership

Join ACCCTEP as we work to develop a strong community of practice among community college teacher education professionals in maintaining relevant and comprehensive lower division teacher preparation academic and student support programs.

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INSPIRING AND EDUCATING TOMORROW'S TEACHERS

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Mission Membership Mission The Association of California Community Colleges Teacher Education Programs (ACCCTEP) promotes the establishment, advancement and sustainability of quality teacher education in California community colleges as an essential component of higher education teacher preparation programs. Vision Membership Mission To increase the number and quality of lower division teacher preparation programs in California, that are focused on increasing the number of students from diverse backgrounds and support these students to dedicate themselves to the field of education through high quality academic preparation integrated with multiple early field experiences and early employment.

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The stroller is California's first vehicle for upward mobility-it's time to push early learning and care forward to help families grow their children stronger.High-quality early learning and care is the first step toward increasing achievement, maximizing state investments in education, health, and workforce development-and lifting families out of poverty. California For All Kids is the state's effort to develop a comprehensive Master Plan for Early Learning and Care that can be implemented and sustained for the benefit of all children and families. From parent perspectives, community organizing, curriculum, equitable access, social justice, financing, and policy-California For All Kids brings the best of what experts in the state know and combines it with listening to the needs of parents and communities. This will help California plan a system that works from the ground up and empowers parents to develop children capable of seizing opportunities in school, career, and life.

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Master Plan for Early Learning and Care - California Health and Human Services

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Master Plan for Early Learning and Care Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: California for All Kids The Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: California for All Kids provides a strong research-based roadmap for building a comprehensive and equitable early learning and care system over the next decade.

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Loyola Marymount University Transitional Kindergarten/Early Childhood Education Certificate and Professional Practicum Academy

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Loyola Marymount University Transitional Kindergarten/Early Childhood Education Certificate and Professional Practicum Academy

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https://soe.lmu.edu/centers/ceel/professionallearning/certificate/transitionalkindergartenteachingcertificate/

Transitional Kindergarten Teaching Certificate - Loyola Marymount UniversityAs an educator I am able to utilize my understanding of healthy family development in my work and share this information with families. I am sensitive to and affirm families' diversity, including cultural traditions, languages, values, socio-economic status, structures, sexual orientation, religion, and individual abilities.soe.lmu.edu

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TK-ECE Certificate & Practicum  Flyer '22-'23-Final

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UPK Planning & Implementation: Countywide Funding Results

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UPK Planning & Implementation: Countywide Funding Results

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The program provides a minimum base grant for each county office of education of $15,000 dollars for each local educational agency in their county that operates kindergarten programs to support countywide planning and capacity building.

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Professional development is a continuum of learning and support activities designed to prepare individuals for work with and on behalf of young children and their families, as well as ongoing experiences to enhance this work. These opportunities lead to improvements in the knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions of early childhood professionals. NAEYC's professional development is aligned and grounded in NAEYC's standards and delivered in innovative ways.

For assistance, please contact the Professional Learning & Engagement Department at [email protected] .

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Gain professional learning experiences to support your professional advancement, wherever you are in your early childhood education career, including online and in-person events.

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PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Credential FAQ

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PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Credential FAQ

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Child Development Permit Overview

California has a multiple level Child Development Permit authorizing services in the care, development, and education of young children in a variety of settings. Each permit level has its own requirements and options for meeting these requirements. The Child Development Permit structure serves as a career ladder so that permit holders can progress towards higher levels of the permit over the course of their career in early childhood education.

Child Development Permit Information and Resources

Child Development Permits Data Dashboard

The Child Development Permits Data Dashboard provides information on child development permits issued in the last five years.

Reframing Preparation for the Early Childhood Workforce

California has been working over the past six years on several foundational activities to reframe the preparation of the early childhood workforce from a system now largely based on seat time and units to a competency-based system of preparation, assessment, and licensure leading to sustained professional growth and development of the trajectory of an early childhood educator's career.

As part of this work, the Commission has developed several significant pieces of supporting infrastructure, including the development and adoption of Child Development Permit job-role based candidate competencies, or " Early Childhood Education Teaching Performance Expectations" and a set of standards for preparation program quality known as the " Early Childhood Preparation Program Guidelines (April 2019)." Under the auspices of the Preschool Development Grant-Renewal (PDG-R) funding, the Commission is also working to develop a new ECE Teaching Performance Assessment for formative use with permit candidates completing an ECE preparation program at the Teacher level of the permit, and a new Program Quality Peer Review process to replace the current transcript-based licensure process. For further information on this work, see the description of the PDG-R grant in the following section.

Child Development PDG-R Grant Activities

The Commission was invited in 2019 to join the state's successful federal Preschool Development Grant-Renewal (PDG-R) application as a partner in the renewal grant. Initially received three years ago by the California Department of Education, the Preschool Development Grant-Renewal provides an additional three-year opportunity for the state to focuses on preparation, professional development and advancement for the early care and education workforce.

The Commission's focus and role within the PDG-R grant is a $3 million effort from 2020-2022 to (1) promote the implementation of the ECE TPEs and the Program Guidelines through outreach and technical assistance to ECE preparation programs and program sponsors, (2) to develop and pilot a formative TPE-based Teaching Performance Assessment for the Teacher level of the permit, and (3) to develop and pilot a new ECE program Quality Peer Review Process. The ECE Teaching Performance Assessment will initially be for formative use in the field as programs become more familiar with TPE-based performance-oriented candidate assessments embedded within the program's coursework and fieldwork/practicum experiences. The activities under the PDG-R grant, including working with the field within the context of the four ECE pilots described below, will take several years to implement and complete.

Pilot Activities and Opportunities for ECE Workforce Preparation Programs

Four distinct pilot opportunities are available under the auspices of the PDG-R grant for interested two-and four-year institution of higher education that offer preparation for the ECE workforce. The pilots will be operational during the PDG-R grant funded period of July 1, 2020-December 31, 2022. For those institutions interested in applying to be a part of the Pilots, applications are available ( Application to participate in the ECE Pilots). The four pilots are:

1.TPEs implementation pilot
2.Program Guidelines (accreditation) pilot
3.ECE formative Teaching Performance Assessment pilot
4.Program Quality Peer Review

Because of the interrelated nature of the first two pilots, institutions choosing to participate in pilot 1 must also participate in pilot 2. The expectations and obligations for participating in any of the pilots are outlined in the Pilots Guidance Document. Pilot participation is voluntary on the part of individual institutions and programs. The ECE pilots include participants currently represent 59 institutions of higher education, including both two-year community colleges and four-year colleges and universities. Our participating institutions represent the full range of California higher education segments preparing the early childhood workforce: California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, and Independent California Colleges and Universities.

Design Team for Development of the new ECE Teaching Performance Assessment (Pilot 3)

The Design Team for the new ECE Teaching Performance Assessment was appointed by the Commission's Executive Director in January 2021 and had its first meeting on March 2021. The Design Team will be meeting monthly for a period of at least two years to develop and pilot a new ECE formative Teaching Performance Assessment based on the adopted Teaching Performance Expectations for candidates for the Teacher level of the Child Development Permit. When the new assessment is ready for initial piloting with candidates, all higher education institutions preparing the ECE workforce will be invited to participate in the pilot activities.

Design Team for Development of the new ECE Program Quality Peer Review Process (Pilot 4)

The Design Team for the new ECE Program Quality Peer Review Process was appointed by the Commission's Executive Director in January 2021 and held its first meeting on February 2021. The Design Team has drafted a proposed Program Quality Peer Review process that blends a supportive collegial inquiry group process with a more formal program approval (accreditation) process. The work of the Program Quality Peer Review Team is being presented for information at the August 5-6, 2021, Commission meeting and it is intended that the new process will be piloted during winter-spring 2022.

Informational Webinars for the Field About the ECE Work and the ECE Pilots

Informational webinars about the Commission's ECE work were presented and discussed with the field via a series of six webinars. The webinars can be access through the links below:

The Master Plan for Early Learning and Care

California's new Master Plan for Early Learning and Care, published in December 2020, provides a new statewide direction for developing and supporting the ECE wrokforce. The Master Plan includes a framework and implementation plan to realize the vision of ensuring that all California children thrive physically, emotionally, and educationally in their early years through access to high-quality early learning and care resources; equitable opportunities for the workforce that advance equitable outcomes for children; and greater efficiencies to the state today and every day through structures for continuous improvement. The Commission's work under the PDG-R grant is consistent with the vision and direction embodied in the Master Plan.

UPK Teacher Pipeline Resource Compendium

The Resource Compendium provides summaries of the key investments and policy changes included in the 2021-22 State Budget that support the professional development and recruitment of the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Transitional Kindergarten (TK), and Kindergarten workforce. These investments can be leveraged to serve the goal of building a highly qualified, culturally, and linguistically diverse early education workforce. Several of these investments highlight the opportunities to utilize funds for activities specifically designed to support diversifying the workforce-for example, the Teacher Residency Grant Program and the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program.

Bimonthly P-3 Newsletter Available from the California Department of Education

The California Department of Education provides bimonthly newsletters that share information on department news related to the CDE's P-3 initiative, and include new resources and funding opportunities, spotlights on local P-3 implementation in action, and information on upcoming and recent P-3 related events. Please note that partner content is not endorsed by the CDE.

To subscribe to the CDE's P-3 listserve, email "subscribe" to subscribe-cdep3updates@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

Communications with the Field

The Commission offers multiple ways for the field to contact staff and to stay in touch with ECE-related news, events, and activities. Communication links include:

Subscribe to the ECE News List

Information from the Professional Services Division regarding the Child Development Permit and the work under the Preschool Development Grant-Renewal relating to the ECE TPEs, Program Guidelines, formative Teaching Performance Assessment, and Peer Review Process pilots is provided through ECE News Updates. Please Subscribe to the ECE News to receive these updates.
The previous ECE News Updates are provided here for reference:
ECE Update November 2021
ECE Update January 2022
Special ECE News Update

Contact Commission staff via the ECE Mailbox

The ECE@ctc.ca.gov mailbox is for general questions about child development permit preparation programs and activities relating to the Preschool Development Grant.-Renewal. For questions about permit requirements and applying for a Child Development Permit, please email credentials@ctc.ca.gov.

Take Advantage of ECE Office Hours

Commission staff have established office hours for the ECE stakeholder community. Office hours provide an opportunity when ECE staff will be available to respond to questions, comments, and other informational needs. ECE office hours will be held from 12-1 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Here is the zoom link for accessing ECE office hours on the first Tuesday and the zoom link for the third Tuesday.

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California has a multiple level Child Development Permit authorizing services in the care, development, and education of young children in a variety of settings. Each permit level has its own requirements and options for meeting these requirements.

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Save the Date for CTC Webinar on PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential

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Save the Date for CTC Webinar on PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential

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Save the Date: November 16, 2022: An Introduction to the New PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential
At its August and October 2022 meetings, the Commission approved the authorization statement, credential requirements, preconditions, program standards, and teaching performance expectations for the new PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential. Commission staff will be presenting a webinar on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, from 11:00 to 12:30 p.m. to provide an overview of the credential and review its components. Additional webinars and technical assistance will be scheduled to assist prospective program sponsors interested in offering preparation for this credential. Please use this Zoom meeting link to join.

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Please email questions to upk@sccoe.org

Anisha Munshi, Ed.D.
Associate Superintendent, Professional Learning and Instructional Support

Amanda Dickey
Executive Director, Government Relations

Barb Flores
Coordinator, ELA/ELD/Literacy

Cynthia Fong-Wan
Manager, CPIN Region 5

Antonio Fuentes
Director III, Early Learning Services

Veronica Garza
Manager, ECIDS and Steps to Success Campaign Coordinator​​​

Michael Garcia
Director II, Childcare Planning & Support​​​

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Universal Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Resources | Santa Clara County Office of Education

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PEACH
An Early Childhood Higher Education Collaborative

Vision:

Diverse and coordinated early childhood higher education faculty and their partners prepare diverse early childhood professionals to achieve high quality, developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate programs for young children and their families.

​

The mission of PEACH is to strengthen and support academic professional development pathways and related educational programs for the early childhood (EC) workforce throughout California to support children's learning, growth, and family engagement. We commit to actively work for equitable and anti-racist structures in higher education and to support the early childhood workforce, children, and families.

PEACH Strategic Plan

2020-2030

PEACH Events and Newsletters

Advocacy, Research and Best Practices

We will get back to you shortly with the next steps

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cross sector early childhood higher education collaborative

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PEACH | An Early Childhood Higher Education Collaborative

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PEACH An Early Childhood Higher Education Collaborative Vision: Diverse and coordinated early childhood higher education faculty and their partners prepare diverse early childhood professionals to achieve high quality, developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate programs for young children and their families.

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California Community College Early Childhood Educators

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CDE Free Streaming Video Subscription Service

Due to the ongoing need for virtual resources, the CDE Streaming Video Subscription Service is now available at no cost! The website is currently being updated to provide free and direct access to all registered users.

To set up your subscription:

go to www.cdevideos.org

select "New User?

follow prompts to create your account

after selecting "subscribe", make sure "individual" is selected

select "6 months-$14.99" - (no payment required - this is just a workaround while the fees are removed from the site)

choose "pay by check"

Upcoming Events:
Free Member Workshop - Interrupting Racism for Children - either 7:30 - 10:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. See Events for registration.

Statewide Virtual Regional Meeting! April 30 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. See events for details.

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CCCECE's Vision To serve as an active stakeholder when decisions are made about ECE workforce development To be the primary ECE teacher preparation/workforce development body To partner actively with other stakeholders and maintain our unique focus and role of representing community colleges To help shape and track ECE policy development To serve as

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https://www.ccte.org/

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Here you will find information about our organization, our priorities, and our meetings. As the largest and most comprehensive forum for educator preparation in our state, the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) represents nearly every program in California, and is proud to include members from across the entire learning-to-teach continuum.

Look to CCTE for:

professional networking and partnership-building. At our biannual conferences you'll find deans, professors, K-12 teachers and teacher associations, BTSA leaders, CTC consultants, and district administrators. We are large enough to draw a varied state-wide constituency, yet small enough that you'll find colleagues, renew connections, and get your work done.

information on state-wide policy initiatives. During the Policy Sessions at each conference, you will get updates from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and will hear from a policy advocate or legislator. Our priority is to be an active voice in the state, advocating for all aspects of educator preparation.

growing-edge research and best practices, at conferences and also through our publications. Our organization promotes a highly professional conversation around educator preparation, and gives opportunities for multiple perspectives to be heard and engaged.

your two affiliated organizations - AACTE and ATE - and your several associated organizations - AICCU-ED, CAIS, CABTE, CAPSE, SCPDS, CASUP, and CRTWC.

Finally, look to CCTE for a friendly and dedicated professional environment where you'll find like minds, an energetic and approachable group of colleagues, and plenty of opportunities to get involved and to have an impact on educator preparation in the state.
Betina Hsieh (2022-24)
CCTE President

PRESIDENT-ELECT
Karen Escalante (2022-24)

VICE PRESIDENT FOR AACTE
Kimberly White-Smith (2020-23)

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ATE
Michael Cosenza (2020-23)

PAST PRESIDENT
Eric Engdahl (2022-24)

DIRECTORS

Grace Cho (2020-23)

Kara Ireland-D'Ambrosio (2022-25)

Sarah Johnson (2020-23)

Antoinette Linton (2022-25)

Kimiya Maghzi (2022-23)

Shadi Roshandel (2021-24)

Terrelle Sales (2021-24)

Daniel Soodjinda (2022-25)

Ivannia Soto (2021-24)

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CCTE - Improving education at every level

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Here you will find information about our organization, our priorities, and our meetings. As the largest and most comprehensive forum for educator preparation in our state, the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) represents nearly every program in California, and is proud to include members from across the entire learning-to-teach continuum.

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Preparing TK to 3rd Grade Educators Through Teacher Residencies

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Preparing TK to 3rd Grade Educators Through Teacher Residencies

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Research shows that high-quality early childhood education programs can have positive and lasting effects on children's academic achievement and behavioral outcomes. Based on this body of research, states across the country have been working to expand access to early childhood education programs.

California is one state that has shifted policy to provide universal access to early childhood education for all 4-year-olds. Transitional kindergarten (TK), launched in 2010 for older 4-year-olds, is the first of a 2-year public school kindergarten program intended to provide developmentally appropriate learning experiences for 4-year-olds. California expanded TK in 2021, making it universal for all 4-year-olds by 2025-26 and establishing minimum child-to-adult ratios of 10 to 1, assuming funding is available.

The expansion of TK-which, in California, essentially adds another public school grade-creates a significant new demand for credentialed teachers with early childhood expertise. In 2019-20, nearly 89,000 children enrolled in TK, representing 71% of eligible 4-year-olds based on the original birthdate cutoff of December 2. That number of eligible children will increase as the age of eligibility gradually expands by several months each year until universal eligibility for all 4-year-olds in 2025-26. A Learning Policy Institute (LPI) analysis estimates that by 2025-26, more than 447,700 children will be eligible for TK, with between 291,000 and 358,000 children enrolled, depending on the rate of uptake. In turn, TK will require an additional 11,900 to 15,600 credentialed teachers with early childhood expertise. The state can draw on existing pools of current Multiple Subject credential holders, current early childhood educators, and new candidates, but most potential TK teachers will require at least some additional preparation.

High-Quality Teacher Residencies

Teacher preparation residency programs can help address this urgent need for new teachers. A growing body of research shows that teacher residencies are a strong model for recruiting, preparing, and retaining teachers. Teacher residencies are modeled on medical residencies' intensive, hands-on supervised preparation. Through university-district partnerships, teacher residencies provide a pathway to a teaching credential in which candidates serve as paid apprentices working with skilled expert teachers while completing highly integrated coursework. Residencies can offer a pathway into teaching for recent college graduates, career changers, and educators who have been working in schools but are not yet certified to be teachers of record in a TK-12 setting.

Teacher preparation residency programs can help address this urgent need for new teachers. A growing body of research shows that teacher residencies are a strong model for recruiting, preparing, and retaining teachers.

Research has identified multiple characteristics of high-quality teacher residencies. Typically, strong residencies are designed to address specific instructional and hiring needs of school districts, provide yearlong clinical experiences in which residents are working 4 to 5 days a week under the guidance of an experienced mentor teacher, and provide financial supports for residents. These and other key characteristics of the residency model (see "Common Features of a High-Quality Teacher Residency") make early childhood-focused (i.e., TK or p-3) residencies part of a multipronged solution to quickly prepare a large number of highly qualified, diverse teachers. With California expanding access to residency funding through grants, many school districts have already expressed interest in using funds to expand the supply of TK teachers.

This brief describes two early childhood-focused residency programs in California: the Fresno Teacher Residency Program and the UCLA IMPACT program. It describes each program's coursework, clinical experiences, resident and mentor supports, and program outcomes, including perspectives from former residents, program leaders, and mentor teachers. Data sources include program documents and artifacts, interviews with program leaders and graduates, and publicly available recordings of events and documentary videos.

Common Features of a High-Quality Teacher Residency

High-quality teacher residency programs share common characteristics identified in research. Residencies typically:

consist of strong partnerships between school districts, universities, and sometimes other organizations such as teacher associations or nonprofit support providers;

tightly integrate coursework about teaching and learning with classroom practice;

require a full year of residency teaching working alongside an accomplished mentor teacher;

recruit diverse candidates for specific district instructional and hiring needs, often in shortage areas;

provide financial support for both preparation and living expenses, often in exchange for the resident's commitment to teach in the district for a minimum number of years;

place cohorts of residents in "teaching schools" that model evidence-based practices with diverse learners; and

offer ongoing mentoring and support for residency graduates hired by the partner district after they enter the teaching workforce.

Fresno TK-3 Teacher Residency Program

From 2017 to 2019, in response to district workforce needs, the Fresno Teacher Residency Program offered two special cohorts focused on preparing teachers specifically for TK through 3rd grade. The 18-month program was part of Fresno Unified School District's strategic workforce pipeline and included a focus on child development and STEM in the early grades, leading to a Multiple Subject (elementary) teaching credential and master's degree in curriculum and instruction.

When it launched the TK-3 teacher residency, Fresno Unified had already been running residency programs in partnership with California State University, Fresno, for 5 years. These residency programs-originally launched with a federal Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant-had proven to be a key part of the workforce pipeline for Fresno Unified, a large district located in California's Central Valley serving over 73,000 students, 86% of whom are from low-income families and 19% of whom are English learners. The district expanded its existing residency program to prepare TK-3 teachers to meet its acute hiring needs for well-prepared TK and early-grade teachers with the support of a grant through the California State University New Generation of Educators Initiative.

Jeanna Perry, Manager of Teacher Development in Fresno Unified, shared that the early-grade focus of these cohorts was "determined by the district's hiring needs. We really looked at what positions we needed to fill and what the areas of growth were within Fresno Unified." As the district was beginning to expand the number of TK classrooms in response to state policy, district residency leaders worked closely with human resources administrators to strategically determine the number of candidates they would need to fill projected vacancies in TK through 3rd grade and recruited applicants based on these projections.

The district focused its new cohorts specifically on early learning because it recognized that working with young children in the early grades requires content expertise that is not typically included in elementary teacher preparation programs. According to Perry, the cohorts focused on three main areas of content: early literacy, developmentally appropriate practices, and social and emotional learning. The program also focused on family engagement strategies, a key component of early learning that supports continuity of learning both in and out of the formal classroom and that has been associated with positive developmental and academic outcomes. See Table 1 for specific courses and how they were integrated with the clinical requirements of the residency.

Program Approach

The program taught residents developmentally appropriate instructional strategies for young children that reflect the research on the science of learning and development, which documents the importance of active learning opportunities that integrate different content areas in authentic ways that resemble how we experience work and life in the real world.

Residents applied the project approach in their own teaching as they learned about their students' interests and experiences and tailored content and teaching strategies to be developmentally appropriate. They engaged their students in projects that investigated topics such as the four seasons, community jobs, and cultural traditions around the world to create opportunities for children to engage in active learning and be leaders of their own learning.

The focus was on interdisciplinary integration and knowledge construction and not teaching skills in isolation. I wanted the residents to know theoretically why we did things the way we did in early childhood. It was really important for them to know about how children learn as well as what was developmentally appropriate. (emphasis added)

Integration across content areas was a signature component of the TK-3 program because, in multiple-subject programs, there is typically "no focus on the integration of content across disciplines," said Bennett. Previously, the literacy foundations course focused on teaching decontextualized skills using mostly fiction, but with the shift to a TK-3 emphasis, residents learned to teach literacy skills within content areas, including how to use informational text as starting points for explorations into science, social studies, or fine arts.

Another early childhood-driven program focus was an emphasis on foundational skills. For example, Bennett encouraged residents to provide multiple opportunities for children to practice and strengthen foundational literacy skills through integrated content. She explained:

We wanted the students to be able to integrate [content] across the disciplines but also to use the units as a springboard for developing foundational literacy skills. Residents infused their lessons with the four components of literacy: . . . reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

The residents based their instructional lessons on state standards and Fresno Unified's adopted curriculum, which were used as central texts in their university courses. Residents in TK used the California Preschool Learning Foundations and Curriculum Frameworks as well as the state's content standards for kindergarten. Guided by these standards, residents also learned to attend to early childhood-specific domains, such as fine motor development, in their lesson planning. All residents collaborated with their mentor teachers to enhance the district curriculum with primary source documents, experiments, and projects to make the curriculum come to life for their students.

District-University Partnership

The early childhood content focus was possible because of the strong partnership between district residency leaders and Fresno State's teacher preparation program. For every course, Fresno Unified district leaders-typically teachers on special assignment-were paired with university faculty as co-instructors to provide a district lens on how theory and research were enacted throughout the district. Perry explained:

What's different about Fresno is that all the credential coursework is co-taught. That means there is a faculty member with expertise, and we also have a district co-teacher who's an expert for us [and who can share] how we practice this within the Fresno Unified context, which is very important when you're onboarding teachers during preservice instead of waiting for their first year of teaching.

Through quarterly curriculum meetings, district and teacher preparation program leaders designed and implemented the specialized TK-3 residency programming. In these meetings, district leaders collaborated with faculty who had early childhood expertise to redesign courses and assignments to include a developmental focus, emphasizing pedagogy and approaches for children in grades TK through 3, with connections to later development. Perry shared that the curriculum meetings:

were critical to how we designed the program, because we basically took each syllabus and we deconstructed it. We said, "What is it that our candidates need; what are the gaps?" both at the university and the district level. And then [we asked], "How do we support that through instruction?"

The intentionality of weaving in the developmental perspective throughout each course was crucial so that the early childhood focus became a strong common thread across the program.

Benefits for Residents

A major draw for residents, in addition to the early-grade focus, was the $11,000 stipend, made possible through federal TQP grant funds. The stipend was not just a benefit but a necessity for many residents. As program graduate Ezequiel Rodriguez explained:

As a first-generation and low-income student, the [stipend] really stood out to me. [The residency] seemed like it was going to be a full-time commitment, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold [another] job, and if I were to hold a job, it would be very difficult.

Because the stipend was not enough to fully cover their cost of living, some residents also served as a substitute teacher 1 day a week, which allowed them to supplement their income, meet critical substitute teacher shortage needs, and gain valuable clinical experience in other grades.

Another program benefit that attracted residents was that at the end of the 18-month program, residents earned a master's degree in addition to their teaching credential. With both a credential and master's degree, residents qualified for higher starting salaries based on the district salary schedule than new teachers hired with a credential only. A major selling point was that rather than simply adding the graduate courses on top of existing credential program courses, district leaders and teacher preparation faculty collaborated to seamlessly integrate the two programs of study within the university degree requirements, with some courses counting toward both the master's and the credential.

Another benefit was that the residents were clustered together in their school placements, with all courses being held at a school site within a 10-minute drive from residents' clinical placement sites. Clustering residents together at school sites created place-based peer support networks for the residents. Locating courses within the district cut down on resident commuting and eliminated parking costs. Holding the courses in a school also enabled course instructors to (1) provide feedback on how residents were implementing what they had learned in their coursework into their classroom practice and lesson planning and (2) connect with mentor teachers. As Perry described:

We moved the coursework from the university to the site, and this way, when the faculty were at the school site, they were able to push into our master teacher classrooms. When our residents created these beautiful units, they didn't just create them for the [university] class. The instructor would push in, observe the instruction, [and] provide feedback.

Benefits for Mentors

Mentor teachers also benefited from participating in the residency. Residents provided consistent and reliable classroom support, enabling more differentiated instruction. Mentor teachers across grades TK through 6 benefited from resident co-teachers. Although the cohorts had an early-grade focus, residents spent some of their clinical hours in upper-grade classrooms within the same school. Mentors also received a small stipend of $700.

In addition, with residency courses occurring at the school site, mentor teachers got the extra benefit of having access to university faculty and their content expertise. Faculty spent time in classrooms not only observing and providing feedback to residents but also modeling lessons and supporting classroom instruction for the mentors. Perry shared, "[We had] buy-in from our teachers at the school site, [who were] saying, 'Come model for me,' which was great because now not only were our residents benefiting, but also our master teachers." Faculty also provided professional development workshops for mentors, particularly in science and math pedagogy.

Mentor teachers and site administrators attributed schoolwide improvements to having two co-teachers in every classroom in combination with faculty support in a high-quality teacher preparation program. Principal Annarita Howell, who hosted an entire cohort of 25 residents at her school site, shared, "Our schoolwide data reflected the positive impact the additional highly trained adults had in student learning, closing the gaps where students struggled."

Program Outcomes

In just 2 years, between 2017 and 2019, Fresno Unified was able to place 30 new teachers in early-grade classrooms, 10 of which were in TK or kindergarten, with an 83% retention rate as of spring 2022. With such strategic planning, Fresno Unified has been able to fill most of its elementary vacancies in recent years, with its residency program playing a key role in the district's comprehensive educator pipeline.

Not only has Fresno Unified been able to help adequately staff classrooms through its residency program, but the district has also diversified its teacher workforce. Across the two TK-3 cohorts, 67% of residents identified as candidates of color, compared to 45% of teachers in the district in 2018-19, which brought the district closer to reflecting the 90.8% of its students who identified as students of color. In addition, both cohorts included recent college graduates as well as older, nontraditional career changers. In order to recruit a diverse candidate pool, the district expanded recruitment efforts beyond the typical career fairs and university-based recruitment events to advertisements in movie theaters, coffee shops, and churches.

The approach of adding a Fresno Unified-specific lens to course content prepared residents to make smooth transitions into their teaching positions. Rodriguez shared that his residency preparation led to stronger self-efficacy and leadership opportunities, even in his first year, which research documents to be notoriously challenging. When describing the difference between his preparation and that of his peers, Rodriguez stated:

One of the biggest differences I experienced in my first year teaching was how smooth a landing I had coming into the classroom. I felt very comfortable and confident in my practice, and it was very nice to see the growth in the students that first year. . . . Also, because I had a smooth landing into my first year, I was asked to take on the role of being the lead teacher, and I mentored a brand-new team of five teachers my first year in.

The focus on early childhood attracted candidates who were passionate about working with young children, like Rodriguez. And that specialized preparation played a critical role in residents' development. Rodriguez, who teaches 1st grade in Fresno, explained:

I loved coming out of the program because it was an [early childhood education] focus and something that's going to stick with me forever. I feel that as a practitioner you have to be actively conscious of the age group you are teaching and the importance of developmentally appropriate activities for the students. I learned that children learn through play, so when they're playing kitchen or when they're playing teacher, it was an experience that they lived and they're playing to make sense of it. So I carry that into my practice every day.

The Fresno Teacher Residency Program TK-3 cohort was a cutting-edge program that successfully sought to address the district's anticipated need for TK and other early-grade teachers with specialized expertise in developmentally appropriate pedagogy. Having met their hiring needs for TK in 2019, Fresno Unified shifted its residency program to focus on special education and STEM in subsequent years. Now, with the expansion of TK, it is planning to relaunch the early childhood focus.

UCLA IMPACT ECE/Multiple Subject Program

The early childhood pathway was launched in 2010 in response to the statewide establishment of TK. Development of the early childhood pathway recognized the unique expertise that teachers need when working with young children. Dr. Helen M. Davis, who directed the IMPACT program, explained, "We would hate for schools to say because we're preparing kindergarten teachers, we're well positioned to prepare TK teachers. It's an easy route, but it's insufficient [for teachers of younger children]." According to Annamarie Francois, Executive Director of Center X, it is insufficient because "the focus on child and adolescent development is almost absent in some [elementary teacher preparation] programs," which focus primarily on pedagogy and methods while excluding core early childhood topics like relationship building and family and community engagement. For Hyunja Chung, IMPACT graduate and 3rd-grade teacher, the early childhood focus was a key factor in her interest in the program:

I didn't see any other grad school programs offering an [early childhood] focus in addition to the master's and the credential. I enjoy working with younger students, so I thought having a better understanding of childhood development would really make me into a stronger teacher.

Program Approach

The program began with an intense weeklong institute that introduced residents to child development and inclusion content that the program used to frame the residency experience. This institute, combined with the developmental content woven throughout their coursework, helped residents apply a developmental approach to their teaching as they progressed through the program.

Davis explained that "all things [early childhood] begin with understanding child development and how developmental milestones in each domain guide curriculum and planning." The program started with the courses Child Development and The Child, Family, and Community. These are the first of eight early childhood core courses, often referred to as the CAP 8 in California, that residents must complete to fulfill state requirements for the child development permit. Through these courses, residents gained expertise in implementing developmentally appropriate practices as well as in using the California Preschool Learning Foundations and Curriculum Frameworks. In addition, residents learned to use the Desired Results Developmental Profile, an observational assessment prekindergarten teachers use to track individual children's development. Because residents were working toward two different certifications and a master's degree, the program required a large number of courses. Looking back, Davis reflected, "A huge value add would be if we could integrate [early childhood education] courses and multiple subject courses to include development in k-8 methods and cut down on the number of separate courses that candidates would have to take."

The early childhood residents practiced the instructional strategies they learned through extensive clinical experiences over the entire 18-month program, including in early childhood settings serving children birth to 5 years old and in early elementary settings. In their first two quarters, residents had placements in early childhood settings, starting at one of the UCLA campus early care and education centers. These early childhood placements were substantial, requiring residents to be in their assigned classrooms for 6 hours a day, 4 days a week.

In their third and fourth quarters, residents completed clinical placements in two elementary classrooms, working approximately 30 hours per week. In all of these placements, residents worked alongside expert mentor teachers who were selected based on effective teaching that incorporated the values and practices of the program, including a teaching approach that acknowledges the role of children's social and cultural contexts as well as a commitment to social justice. Program faculty advisors intentionally matched mentors and residents based on personality to help ensure a positive clinical experience. In the final stakeholder survey report, one former resident shared that "the field placements were the most meaningful experiences. There is so much I learned from simply being in classrooms, interacting with the children, and working with different mentors."

In addition to the focus on developmentally appropriate practice, IMPACT also explicitly focused on developing social justice educators. For Chung, the "focus on social justice and teaching in traditionally underserved communities" were important factors in choosing IMPACT. Residents shared that the program helped them learn to incorporate differentiated instruction, multiple strategies, hands-on approaches, different modalities (e.g., auditory, kinesthetic), and cooperative learning to meet the needs of all students in their classrooms. The content and pedagogical strategies that residents learned within this equity framework prepared residents to work in the diverse, traditionally underserved settings where 87% of graduates were hired. Chung explained that as she transitioned into her own classroom, "I felt very prepared because a lot of the information and trainings provided by the school district professional developments were trainings that were already covered in the residency program."

Benefits for Residents

Several aspects of IMPACT were important in recruiting residents. For Chung, the combination of a yearlong residency in real classrooms with an accelerated timeline for earning multiple credentials and a graduate degree was a no-brainer. "The program had a shorter time frame ... and I wanted that additional time in the classroom through a residency program," she explained. Extensive clinical experience was a crucial factor in how prepared residents felt as they transitioned to their own classrooms.

Other major draws for residents included smaller cohorts and financial supports. Chung described the value of a small, intimate cohort that allowed residents to develop strong relationships with each other. Cohorts for the early childhood program ranged from 9 to 16 residents per year, and the relationships residents forged were foundational to the resident experience, as they were able to problem-solve, plan, and process learning together. Residents also received a $10,000 fellowship, made possible through TQP grant funds, which was very helpful for Chung, who relocated from the Bay Area to enroll in the program.

In addition, residents continued to receive support after program completion. Davis stayed connected to the residents and continued to visit their classrooms throughout their first year beyond the residency, providing additional support and mentoring. Francois shared, "We had not yet created the formal induction program that UCLA currently runs in partnership with the district," but residency leaders knew that novice teachers still need additional support in their first few years. After the first year, residents continued to have access to field support from UCLA through their third year of teaching.

Benefits for Mentors

These meetings allowed mentors to engage in professional development, develop a shared language, share strategies, and support each other within a professional community. In addition, Carrie Johnson Usui, Director of Professional Development and Partnerships at Center X, explained that Methods With Mentors was a way to not only support mentors but also honor their expertise:

Mentors also benefited from co-teaching with residents who "brought in new current ideas that could help the staff grow in ways that routine professional development could not," shared Davis. According to Davis, hosting residents provided "opportunities for staff to reflect and renew their work and added greatly to the early education programs."

Program Outcomes

Over four cohorts, the IMPACT program prepared 50 new, fully licensed teachers, 72% of whom identified as teachers of color, with expertise in early childhood. Most graduates gained employment in TK to 3rd grade, for which pay is typically higher than in infant/toddler or preschool classrooms, with 87% retained in the district for at least 3 years. IMPACT teachers have strong performance assessment and teaching evaluation records.

The IMPACT program was a forward-thinking innovation that responded to the anticipated need for new teachers to staff TK classrooms. According to Bryan Johnson, Director of Certificated Workforce Management in LAUSD, residency leaders are considering another early grades-focused cohort in their residency expansion plans to meet the need for teachers as TK becomes universal.

Supporting TK Expansion With Teacher Residencies

Particularly for TK, which will require a 12:1 child-to-adult ratio starting in 2022-23, the residency is a promising model because the resident can be employed, with a salary and benefits, as the second adult in the classroom using assistant teacher or paraprofessional budget lines to cover salary and tuition. This strategy would serve to meet staffing needs with the expansion of TK, fulfill ratio requirements, and provide a paid pathway for new TK teachers to receive robust preparation in meeting the needs of early learners while earning their Multiple Subject (elementary) teaching credential. The residency pathway may be of particular interest to current early childhood educators with a bachelor's degree working in state preschool programs.

The Teacher Residency Grant Program funds can be used to plan for, establish, or expand residency programs with a focus on TK or kindergarten.

The Early Education Teacher Development Grant Program provides funds for preparing teachers specifically with early childhood expertise.

The Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program and Educator Effectiveness Block Grant can both support classified school employees, such as paraeducators, in obtaining their elementary teaching certification.

The Golden State Teacher Grant Program provides up to $20,000 directly to candidates enrolled in a teacher preparation program to cover program costs.

With the legislative expansion of TK to serve all 4-year-olds by 2025-26, new child-to-adult ratio requirements, and the approaching 2023 deadline to ensure TK teachers have early childhood expertise, the state will need programs like Fresno Unified's TK-3 Teacher Residency Program and IMPACT's early childhood education cohorts over the next few years. Fortunately, the state's recent investments in teacher residencies and other teacher pipeline programs can help to build and sustain high-quality TK residency programs.

Preparing Transitional Kindergarten to 3rd Grade Educators Through Teacher Residencies by Cathy Yun is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The Learning Policy Institute's work on teacher preparation is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation, and the Yellow Chair Foundation. Core operating support for LPI is provided by the Heising-Simons Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Sandler Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett. The ideas voiced here are those of the author and not of our funders.

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Preparing Transitional Kindergarten to 3rd Grade Educators Through Teacher Residencies

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Research shows that high-quality early childhood education programs can have positive and lasting effects on children's academic achievement and behavioral outcomes. Based on this body of research, states across the country have been working to expand access to early childhood education programs. California is one state that has shifted policy to provide universal access to early childhood education for all 4-year-olds.

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Promising Models for Preparing a Diverse, High-Quality Early Childhood Workforce

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Promising Models for Preparing a Diverse, High-Quality Early Childhood Workforce

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Decades of research have established that early childhood education (ECE) for children birth through age 5 can have a positive effect on children's development and school readiness. In order for ECE programs to support this development, they need educators who are prepared to create engaging, inclusive, and developmentally grounded learning environments and who can effectively reach and teach diverse learners. Many successful ECE programs call for educators to have a B.A. and specialized training in ECE, but requirements for early educators in many states are less ambitious, and access to comprehensive preparation programs is limited.

A number of states are considering policy proposals to update credential or degree requirements for early educators. There is concern, however, that well-intentioned policies to raise educator qualifications without sufficient supports may have negative consequences for the adequacy; stability; and racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of the ECE workforce and may result in a shortage of educators.

The report on which this brief is based describes three promising programs that recruit and prepare diverse cohorts of educators through innovative, affordable pathways in California-a state that is actively considering investments to further develop its ECE workforce. They include the Family Child Care Apprenticeship program; the Education/Child Development Program at Skyline College, a traditional community college; and EDvance, a pathway preparation program at San Francisco State University that supports students earning a B.A. in ECE. The report also identifies common features of these models and, building on insights from policies enacted at scale in New Jersey, provides recommendations for policy.

Background and Context

Evidence from k-12 settings indicates that teachers who participate in comprehensive preparation and induction experiences are better prepared when they enter the classroom and are more likely to remain in the profession. However, relatively few early educators participate in preservice preparation (i.e., in-depth formal training before working in the field), in part because those experiences are not required or supported by states.

In California, as in many states, educational requirements for the educators of children birth through age 5 vary widely by program. Most early educators in the state-including those who teach in licensed child care centers or preschools-must hold a California Child Development Permit, which does not require teachers to attain a degree. Educators in Head Start must have an associate or bachelor's degree with a specialization in ECE. Special education preschool and transitional kindergarten teachers, both of whom work in school districts, must hold a teaching credential, which is often obtained through a 1-year postbaccalaureate program.

Early educator preparation occurs at both 2- and 4-year colleges and universities. Community colleges tend to be an important resource for many early educators because they are available across the state, have low tuition relative to other institutions of higher education, and offer relevant coursework. Many 4-year colleges and universities also have ECE programs, although not all of them focus specifically on preparing students for classroom teaching. In many states, early childhood degree programs at 2- and 4-year colleges do not require supervised student teaching, despite research showing that clinical practice is an important element of high-quality teacher preparation.

Because there is no single permit or credential to work in ECE programs, there is no "typical" path to a career in ECE in California, as in most states. Instead, early educators enter the field with a range of education and experiences and pursue credits, permits, or degrees at various points throughout their careers. Many early educators return to school while working in the field to gain knowledge and advance their careers. (See Figure 1.)

Ensuring that early educators take efficient paths in higher education is important given that they often encounter challenges paying for school and balancing school, work, and family commitments. Further, higher education processes and systems can be complex and difficult to navigate, and college students of color and students from low-income households are disproportionately more likely to encounter these challenges.

The case studies in the full report offer examples of programs striving to overcome these challenges to ensure that students of all backgrounds succeed. Though each model is unique, all were selected for having a focus on preparing diverse early educators and having research-based design features, such as a focus on foundational knowledge in child development and sustained, supported clinical experience. They also represent different geographic regions.

Family Child Care Apprenticeships: Supporting Providers' Advancement

The Early Educator Apprenticeships are an innovative pilot project aimed at increasing the qualifications of early educators through coursework paired with on-the-job training and support. The program was launched by the Service Employees International Union in partnership with ECE employers, child care resource and referral agencies, and institutions of higher education. It offers apprenticeships to locally recruited educators in three distinct settings: family child care, Head Start, and child care centers. The Family Child Care On-the-Job Training Program (FCC Apprenticeship), the focus of this case study, is designed for licensed family child care providers-small-business owners who care for children in their homes-and is implemented at four sites across California.

The FCC Apprenticeship helps apprentices develop as ECE professionals and acquire California Child Development Permits through accessible college coursework. (See Figure 2.) Apprentices enroll in college courses offered during evening hours at community sites, in partnership with local community colleges. Child development courses support educators' skill development, and the program identifies required general education courses that are accessible and relevant for educators. The program has developed an onboarding process for instructors who teach apprentices, especially general education instructors who lack early childhood expertise. Apprentices are grouped into cohorts of 25 peers who act as a network of support in their classes.

The program offers bilingual and bicultural coaching from staff who visit apprentices' homes to provide feedback and guidance on their programs and pedagogy using tools aligned with California's quality rating and improvement system. It also provides site coordinators who help apprentices choose classes and access other support as needed.

The FCC Apprenticeship incentivizes participation by providing apprentices with a monthly wage enhancement that ranges from $100 to $500 per month, depending on their length of tenure in the program. The financial support is particularly salient for family child care providers, whose earnings are very low. The program additionally provides stipends for tuition, books, a laptop, and fees, making college coursework free for apprentices.

The layering of multiple supports into a coherent approach makes the FCC Apprenticeship a powerful learning experience, and early program data are promising. In the FCC program's 2-year existence, 95 apprentices have earned new permits, most of whom are Spanish-speaking and identify as Latino/a. Since many of the apprentices care for mixed age groups, the approach has promise to help address California's shortage of high-quality care for children under age 3.

Skyline College: A Community College Connecting Theory to Practice

Skyline College's Education/Child Development Program is an example of a traditional community college department creating a supportive, hands-on learning community with an explicit focus on preparing early educators for classroom teaching in a variety of settings, including child care centers and preschool programs. (See Figure 3.) It serves a range of students, from high school students to current educators, as they work toward an associate degree or California Child Development Permit.

Skyline ECE courses, which are similar in content to those at other California community colleges, are responsive to the specific needs of Skyline ECE students. The program's guided pathway offers a prescribed set of general education and ECE courses that helps students progress efficiently toward permits and degrees, and the college offers a general education math course specifically designed for early educators. Further, faculty use engaging teaching strategies tied to practice. Coursework is regularly modified to meet students' needs, and faculty and staff collaboration encourages alignment of coursework and field experiences.

Skyline's on-campus Child Development Laboratory Center, or "lab school," provides students high-quality mentoring and teaching practice early in their academic careers. Many Skyline ECE students have some experience there through course observations, internships, or student teaching. A recently developed Teacher Track Learning Community allows some students to gain early student teaching experience and earn a Child Development Associate Teacher Permit in their first year of community college. Early experience in the classroom provides students an invaluable opportunity to connect coursework to practice. Faculty and staff meet monthly to support lab school mentors and share advice about supporting their students.

To promote student success, Skyline's faculty and staff cultivate caring relationships with students and provide a variety of supports. ECE-specific academic and career advising helps students choose the appropriate classes to meet their goals and connects them to campus resources, and courses are offered at a low cost. While the college, like community colleges in general, struggles with meeting institutional goals to raise graduation rates, alumni speak highly of their preparation and readiness for teaching.

EDvance at San Francisco State University: Building a Pathway to a B.A. in ECE

EDvance is an early childhood teacher preparation program housed within the Marian Wright Edelman Institute for the Study of Children, Youth and Families at San Francisco State University. The program supports early educators in earning a bachelor's degree and focuses its recruitment on groups historically underrepresented in higher education, including Black and Latino/a students.

EDvance offers two thoughtfully constructed pathways for students. The lower division pathway is designed to support aspiring educators during their first 2 years of college; the upper division pathway, Promoting Achievement Through Higher Education (PATH), is for continuing San Francisco State students as well as students who transfer from community colleges. To participate in PATH, a student must work at least part time as an early educator. By the end of the program, lower division students are eligible for a California Child Development Teacher Permit and upper division students earn their B.A. In both pathways, courses are cohort-based, strategically chosen and scheduled, and incorporate a focus on social justice and equity. (See Figure 4.)

All EDvance students gain hands-on experience in early childhood classrooms. For lower division students, an early practicum program offers a supervised clinical experience in which students work one full day per week alongside a mentor teacher in a subsidized program. Upper division PATH students work at least 25 hours per week in an early childhood setting. They use videos of their work with children to reflect on their practice and get tailored feedback from faculty and peer mentors.

Across both pathways, EDvance offers specialized academic advising and educational planning, as well as financial aid that allows many students to attain a degree without incurring debt. These supports are offered by a team of dedicated staff and faculty, many of whom are current ECE practitioners with deep relationships with the community and are well positioned to teach students about the latest tools of the profession. They are supported by strong local partnerships and philanthropy.

EDvance has graduated more than 90% of its PATH students in just 2 years. The program provides proof of concept that 4-year institutions can provide pathways to a bachelor's degree that support both the existing workforce and aspiring educators in preparing to teach in ECE settings.

Common Features of Promising Preparation Models

The early educator preparation models described in the report target different segments of the early childhood workforce and employ a range of mechanisms to support participants in achieving professional milestones, suggesting that there is no one approach to early educator preparation. Yet the models share the following common features:

Local early educator pipelines and pathways. The programs have adopted highly localized recruitment strategies to target educators who reflect the diversity of local communities. The three programs have developed clear pathways aligned with recognized credentials and degrees to prepare students as effective ECE professionals.

Relationship-building to promote persistence and success. Each program prioritizes relationship-building among program staff, faculty, and students to create safe, inclusive, and supportive learning communities. They also create cohorts of students who advance through their preparation together. The programs encourage the use of interactive and collaborative pedagogical approaches in courses to engage students, build rapport, and deepen student learning.

Opportunities for clinical practice in feedback-rich environments. All the models provide opportunities to participate in clinical practice with support from instructors, mentors, and peers. Coursework and clinical experiences incorporate knowledge of tools and frameworks that are used in day-to-day practice in California, preparing students to work in ECE settings.

Multifaceted supports that promote college persistence and success. Supports include individualized academic and career advising from specialized staff; courses offered on evenings or weekends in convenient locations; dedicated tutoring; courses that are intentionally sequenced and coursework that is scaffolded by instructors in response to individual students' needs; and financial supports that reduce or eliminate higher education costs for students.

Well-supported and diverse staffs of instructors, advisors, and coaches. Programs intentionally recruit and utilize faculty and staff who have experience in ECE classrooms and who reflect the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of the field. They support continual professional learning opportunities and collaboration among instructors and coaches to help them deliver strong, coherent programs of study.

Community partnerships and funding to strengthen preparation. Program staff cooperate with a variety of stakeholders, including colleges and universities, community organizations, ECE providers, philanthropy, and local agencies. These partnerships provide resources that they leverage to build a comprehensive system of support for students.

The features shared by these programs may be developed locally by dedicated staff who understand their local context and may also be supported at the state level, as New Jersey's example shows.

New Jersey's Investments in P-3 Credentialing: Preparing an ECE Workforce at Scale

In the late 1990s, the New Jersey Supreme Court mandated in Abbott v. Burke, the state's watershed school finance case, that the state create a high-quality, universal preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds in 31 of the state's poorest school districts. One of the requirements for preschool programs in the so-called "Abbott districts" was that all preschool teachers-including educators in Head Start and community-based organizations receiving state funds-hold a bachelor's degree and a preschool to 3rd-grade (P-3) credential. The state's policies fostered a significant and rapid shift in the supply of credentialed educators: While in 1999-2000 only 38% of preschool teachers in Abbott districts met credential requirements, by 2006 nearly all (97%) of the 2,900 teachers met this requirement. (See Figure 5.) Many of these teachers came from the existing ECE workforce.

To meet the new mandate and to build a robust pipeline of future educators, New Jersey expanded its investments in higher education and ongoing professional learning. To begin, it created multiple pathways to a P-3 credential, including traditional 4-year B.A. programs; postbaccalaureate programs; and the Alternate Route program, which allowed students with a B.A. to earn a credential while working in state preschool programs. State-funded scholarships and stipends enabled most early educators to go back to school. Finally, pay parity with k-12 teachers-mandated by the court for all teachers with P-3 certification, including educators in Head Start and private preschool centers-was a critical incentive to attract and retain educators who otherwise might leave for better-paying k-12 positions.

The state additionally expanded the size and capacity of higher education programs through two grant programs administered through the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. The grants, totaling $13 million across preschool to grade 12 education programs, allowed institutions of higher education to develop their credentialing programs and hire more ECE faculty. The state Department of Education and institutions of higher education also made supports available to students already working in the field, such as providing academic tutoring and advising and holding courses at convenient locations and times. State support also enabled school districts to provide extensive professional development, overseen by an early childhood supervisor and master teachers, to in-service teachers after degree completion.

High expectations coupled with a significant increase in systemic financial support proved to be a successful combination for rapidly raising the qualifications of the ECE workforce, and the resulting preschool program was shown to have significant long-term benefits for children. New Jersey's preschool workforce reforms also generated lessons learned, such as the importance of developing pathways for educators without a bachelor's degree and for educators in rural areas. Another lesson learned is the importance of gathering data to understand the implications of reforms for the diversity of the educator workforce, since data suggest that the reforms' impact on workforce diversity was mixed across racial and ethnic groups.

Implications for Policy

As New Jersey's example shows, states can play an important role in ensuring that early educators have access to the supports they need to complete their higher education programs successfully. Specific steps that states can take include the following (see Figure 6):

1. Build the capacity of higher education programs and ECE faculty to prepare a diverse workforce. States should consider providing institutions of higher education with funds for capacity-building, as was done in New Jersey. Funding could be used to hire and train well-qualified, diverse faculty with expertise in ECE and develop high-quality content that meets the needs of diverse learners. Funds could also be used to support flexible scheduling and the provision of courses in alternative locations to make coursework accessible to more students.

2. Support high-quality clinical practice. At the core of the programs described here are intensive student teaching experiences under the guidance of a mentor, yet many ECE degree programs do not require supervised student teaching. States can support the development of promising models for clinical practice such as apprenticeships, lab schools, and paid practicum experiences by providing funding and technical assistance.

3. Develop clear pathways to progress from 2- to 4-year colleges. Many ECE students complete their initial college coursework at community colleges. Many states have begun to facilitate transfer agreements between 2- and 4-year colleges. However, there is often a lack of clarity as to how the ECE coursework offered in a B.A. program should differ from or build on coursework offered at community colleges. States can provide funding to incentivize 2- and 4-year institutes of higher education to develop these pathways and align coursework.

4. Fund academic supports for ECE students, including specialized advising. To help students complete rigorous coursework on time, especially students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education, states can provide funding for specialized ECE advising and academic tutoring.

5. Offer financial assistance to educators earning an early childhood permit, degree, or credential. Increasing financial support for early educators' higher education, from tuition to books and student fees, is essential, particularly given the low earnings of most early childhood educators.

6. Set clear, high expectations for early childhood educators. Minimum preparation requirements in many states are inconsistent across types of ECE programs, and these requirements are typically insufficient for preparing high-quality early educators. States that do not currently have an early childhood-specific teaching credential aligned to preparation standards, such as the P-3 credential in New Jersey, could develop one to advance both the coherence of preservice preparation and the professionalization of the field. A formal accreditation process for ECE preparation programs can further ensure that programs offer students a coherent plan of study.

In addition to supporting educators as they increase their qualifications, states must have policies in place to retain teachers once they are in the field. Most importantly, programs must compensate early educators adequately. In a field in which educators are often paid one third the wages of their k-12 counterparts, compensation increases must accompany increases in qualification requirements or taxpayers will be filling a leaky bucket, as trained educators leave for higher-paying jobs. Higher compensation was an important part of New Jersey's success in raising the qualifications of its workforce. States must also provide ongoing professional development to deepen educators' knowledge and skills in the classroom. Finally, states should collect better data on the ECE workforce, including information about early educators' higher education paths, their permit or degree completion, the barriers they encounter, and their ensuing wages. With this information, states can better understand where they are and where they need to go to build a diverse and skilled early educator workforce.

Conclusion

ECE programs have the potential to dramatically change the course of children's lives, especially when programs are led by highly skilled educators. The examples in this report offer lessons for policymakers about how to ensure that all children have teachers who meet high standards and who reflect the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of young children and their families.

Promising Models for Preparing a Diverse, High-Quality Early Childhood Workforce (research brief) by Madelyn Gardner, Hanna Melnick, Beth Meloy, and Jessica Barajas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This research was supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundation. Core operating support for the Learning Policy Institute is provided by the Sandler Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Photo credit: Jaqueline Eligio, EDvance.

Updated January 28, 2020. Revisions are noted here.

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Promising Models for Preparing a Diverse, High-Quality Early Childhood Workforce

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Decades of research have established that early childhood education (ECE) for children birth through age 5 can have a positive effect on children's development and school readiness. In order for ECE programs to support this development, they need educators who are prepared to create engaging, inclusive, and developmentally grounded learning environments and who can effectively reach and teach diverse learners.

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The Early Childhood Essentials framework presents the essential skills and competencies children should acquire before they enter kindergarten and the related skills and competencies early childhood educators (early educators) must cultivate in order to provide high-quality early learning experiences that will set all children on the path to success in school and in life. It provides a baseline of knowledge to help decisions-makers think critically about how to improve the early learning programs they oversee.

The Essential Child Skills

We analyzed the body of research and guidance that describes developmental trajectories of essential skills for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers that can be influenced and scaffolded by educator practice. From our analysis, we identified five key, interrelated developmental areas:

1. Social-emotional development refers to children's abilities to engage in meaningful relationships with adults and peers; recognize, express, and regulate their own emotions and respond appropriately to the emotions of others; and develop social skills and understanding.

2. Cognitive development includes children's abilities to engage in imitation and symbolic play, as well as their early cognitive skills of executive function, such as holding and manipulating information in their minds, sustaining their attention on a task, shifting their attention when appropriate, and controlling their impulses.

3. Language and literacy development captures the ability of children to communicate effectively along a continuum that includes gestures, facial expressions, and eventually language to communicate needs, emotions, and thoughts, as well as early literacy skills that lay the foundation for children to become successful readers and writers as they enter school.

4. Mathematical and scientific reasoning encompasses the development of skills-such as number sense algebraic and geometric thinking, and spatial awareness and measurement-as well as young children's emerging exploration and discovery skills that develop into intentional scientific inquiry skills as they master their worlds.

5. Physical development refers to a range of skills, most commonly motor development, that support children's abilities to explore their environments fully and interact with people and things.

The Essential Early Educator Competencies

Early educators need to acquire and refine a wide-range of essential competencies to provide children with learning and play experiences that promote the development of essential child skills. Based on an analysis of the research and guidance on the essential skills for educators of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers across settings, we identified five key competency areas:

1. Developmentally appropriate practice and environments refers to an educator's knowledge and use of developmentally appropriate practices to support and guide children's learning across and within each essential child skill area, as well as their ability to effectively construct and manage physically and emotionally supportive learning environments and activities to match the age, cultural, and individual needs of children.

2. Observation and assessment of development and learning encompasses an educator's ability to regularly identify, select, and use observation techniques and assessments to understand the learning progression and trajectory of each child to individualize learning, including techniques that are sensitive to and appropriate for children from non-English speaking homes and who may have experienced trauma and adverse childhood experiences.

3. Individualized supports and inclusion-based practices capture an educator's ability to provide safe and inclusive learning environments and activities; to individualize learning experiences to support all learners, including dual language learners, children with special needs, children who exceed developmental expectations for their age, and children who experience trauma and adverse childhood experiences; and to work collaboratively with a team to provide individualized supports.

4. Family support and partnership include educators' abilities to initiate and engage in regular and responsive communication with families, collaborate with families to ensure consistency between home and the learning environment, and support culturally and linguistically diverse families.

5. Continuous improvement and professionalism recognize that early educators are professionals and should have the ability and opportunity to engage in reflection, develop and use professional development plans, participate in professional learning, develop collaborative leadership skills, and maintain professional and ethical standards.

As the framework demonstrates, child development is multifaceted and providing high-quality early learning experiences is complex work. Currently, the odds are stacked against early educators achieving the competencies outlined in the framework because of poor compensation, relatively low standards for preparation, and lack of investment in professional supports, including little or no paid time for professional learning, planning, and collaboration. Early educators need extensive support through college-level preparation and ongoing job-embedded professional development in a supportive environment to be able to consistently provide intentional, individualized learning activities that scaffold each child's acquisition of essential skills.

"Currently, the odds are stacked against early educators achieving the competencies outlined in the framework because of poor compensation, relatively low standards for preparation, and lack of investment in professional supports."

State and local policymakers, administrators, and leaders who influence preparation and professional development play an important role in providing funding to support compensation for early educators, and often directly oversee early learning environments. A fundamental understanding of the essential child skills and educator competencies will support leaders in making informed decisions to ensure educators have the resources they need to provide every child with the opportunity to enter kindergarten ready to thrive.

Early Childhood Essentials: A Framework for Aligning Child Skills and Educator Competencies​ by Beth Meloy and Abby Schachner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This work was supported by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Core operating support for LPI is provided by the Sandler Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. We are grateful to them for their generous support. The ideas voiced here are those of the authors and not those of our funders.

Updated November 20, 2019. Revisions are noted here.

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The Early Childhood Essentials framework presents the essential skills and competencies children should acquire before they enter kindergarten and the related skills and competencies early childhood educators (early educators) must cultivate in order to provide high-quality early learning experiences that will set all children on the path to success in school and in life.

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FCCH Shared Services Alliance Initiative: California's Family Child Care Networks - An Opportunity to Bring to Full Scale

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FCCH Shared Services Alliance Initiative: California's Family Child Care Networks - An Opportunity to Bring to Full Scale

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Family child care (FCC), a fragile system even before COVID-19 and now with issues compounded by the pandemic, is facing significant challenges. California's state-supported FCC networks, staffed networks for people who provide home-based care, now have a presence in 30 of the state's 58 counties. FCC networks could play a critical role in sustaining FCC providers, an important source of child care for infants and toddlers as well as mixed-age groups. Although many licensed FCC homes across the state have closed during the pandemic, FCCs affiliated with networks have largely remained open, initially limited to serving children of essential workers.

AIR directed a study which involved surveying all identified networks and conducting in-depth interviews with a representative sample of network directors in California. Susan Muenchow, principal researcher, and Cecilia Zhang, research associate, administered the survey, analyzed responses, and conducted and coded the interviews. Peggy Daly Pizzo, former director of the Early Learning Project at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, reviewed the national literature on family child care networks and options for strengthening the health care services in FCC homes.

The resulting report and brief describe the history and current state of FCC networks in California, their roles in the pandemic and the challenges they face, and recommendations and opportunities for the future.

Key Findings

FCC providers need better compensation and benefits-and FCC networks may be instrumental in linking providers to health insurance.

FCC networks demonstrate best practices, but they need to have a platform for sharing them.

A cost model is needed to determine the true cost of the networks' central functions, such as FCC home visits, role in determining family eligibility for subsidized care, and training and assistance with business support.

For more information about the study, please contact Susan Muenchow.

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California's Family Child Care Networks: An Opportunity to Bring to Full Scale

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California's state-supported networks could play a critical role in sustaining family child care providers, an important source of child care for infants and toddlers as well as mixed-age groups. AIR conducted a study which describes the history and current state of FCC networks in California, analyzes their roles in the pandemic and the challenges they face, and lays out recommendations and opportunities for the future.

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CSCCE and UC Berkeley: TK Equity Initiative - New Data Shows Early Educators Equipped to Teach TK 

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CSCCE and UC Berkeley: TK Equity Initiative - New Data Shows Early Educators Equipped to Teach TK 

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Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

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This will create the need for as many as 8,000 to 11,000 additional lead TK teachers.In addition to these credentialed lead teachers, the expansion would require up to 26,000 aides to meet the new ratios. In child care centers and family child care homes across the state, a diverse cadre of early educators are experienced in teaching young children and well prepared to meet this demand. Yet this expansion of TK - currently planned to operate exclusively in public school settings - risks bypassing these trained professionals. Without careful attention to how TK is implemented, this model stands to bring greater instability to the early care and education (ECE) system and fuel existing racial pay gaps among the ECE workforce, ultimately undermining the state's vision for an equitable system for children, families, and educators.

This snapshot highlights original key findings from a recent workforce survey of center-based and TK teachers and includes analysis of secondary data that are immediately relevant to the expansion of transitional kindergarten.From October through December 2020, the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) surveyed a representative sample of child care centers and licensed home-based providers for the 2020 California Early Care and Education Workforce Study, including approximately 2,000 center administrators, 2,500 center-based teachers, 3,000 family child care providers, and an exploratory sample of about 280 TK teachers. Data from the study is noted as "2020 California Early Care and Education Workforce Study" throughout the report. Additional findings from the workforce study, including results from family child care (FCC) providers and center administrators, are forthcoming.

California has a diverse, qualified, and experienced population of early educators well positioned to fill new TK jobs.

Throughout child care centers in the state, there is an experienced group of about 83,000 early childhood teachers working with children across the birth-through-preschool age continuum.This is an initial estimate based on the 2020 California Early Care and Education Workforce Study. We derived an average number of teaching staff per center, based on center directors' reports on the number of both teachers and assistant teachers in their centers at the time of the survey (October-December 2020). A weighted total was calculated using the total number of child care centers statewide from the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network. While this data snapshot focuses on the center-based teaching workforce, there are also thousands of FCC providers working with preschool-age children.

Racial and Ethnic Diversity

76% of children birth to age four (the cohort that includes TK) are children of color (KIDS COUNT Data Center, 2020).

70% of center-based teachers identify as people of color, which closely reflects the child population, and almost all early educators are women.

39% of the current TK-12 workforce are teachers of color (California Department of Education, 2020), reflecting a stark contrast to the demographic composition of both children and early educators.

Experience and Education

California's center-based early childhood teachers have extensive practical experience, averaging 15 years of teachingchildren birth to age four.

At least 37% of center-based teachers (about 31,000 teachers) meet or exceed the requirement for TK teachers to complete 24 college units in early childhood education.

Current TK Workforce

TK teachers are required to hold a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with 24 units of early childhood education or a waiver/exemption from the unit requirement. For those who may qualify for a waiver or exemption, the credential alone historically has not included a focus on early education pedagogy (Austin et al., 2015). Findings from CSCCE's exploratory TK survey suggest many TK teachers enter their jobs with less early childhood education and experience than the current ECE workforce.

Among TK teachers who responded to the survey, 90% have previous teaching experience in elementary grades K-3, however, far fewer have experience with younger children.

Risk of Widening California's Existing ECE Wage Gaps

While nearly all early educators are poorly paid, there are disparities driven by a combination of public policy, funding, and systemic racism. The result is a system in which Black educators and those who work with the youngest children are systematically paid the least (Austin et al., 2019; Whitebook et al., 2018).

In California:

Early educators with a bachelor's degree are paid 38% less than TK-8 teachers (McLean et al., 2021);

Early childhood teachers have a poverty rate of 17% (Gould et al., 2020), nearly seven times higher than K-8 teachers (McLean et al., 2021); and

Black early educators experience poverty at as much as double the rates of their White peers (Gould et al., 2019).

Recommendations to Close the Equity Gap in TK Expansion

The concept of TK as a universal program holds promise. Transitional kindergarten represents a step toward early care and education being recognized as a universal public good, available to all, regardless of family income. Additionally, TK establishes the value of teaching four-year-olds on par with that of teaching older children and facilitates pay parity with K-3 teachers. However, current TK implementation proposals erect barriers for diverse, experienced, and prepared early educators to access these jobs (California Legislative Information, 2021b; California Legislative Information, 2021a). They also prevent established ECE programs from delivering public transitional kindergarten.

The architects of universal TK may not intend for this policy to be racist, but ultimately, the outcomes of the policy are what matter. California agencies and leaders responsible for TK implementation have the opportunity to exercise their authority to promote equity in early education employment and service delivery. Specifically, TK can be used to seed structural reforms necessary to ensure an effective and equitable ECE system. To this end, we offer the following recommendations.

Recommendations

1. Utilize the existing ECE system and qualified workforce that is already serving four-year-olds.

Expand TK via the existing mixed-delivery system that is inclusive of public schools, nonprofits, center-based programs, and family child care programs, drawing upon the expertise, experience, and facilities that already exist.

Assess the need for new teachers and spaces after maximizing the capacity of the existing delivery system.

2. Establish alternative pathways to obtain the Multiple Subject Teaching Credential to qualify as a TK teacher.

To support access to TK jobs for the existing ECE workforce:

Create a route to the credential that accepts a bachelor's and/or graduate degree in early childhood education or child development from an appropriately accredited institution as an approved subject-matter program, with three or more years of verified full-time teaching experience satisfying any practicum and/or student teaching experience. Such alternative pathways would eliminate the need for early educators to leave their current employment in order to satisfy full-time student teaching requirements. Similar opportunities already exist for K-12 teachers. The district intern credential is a model to build from (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2021a).

To support an expanded and future workforce:

In the short term, revive California's existing standard early childhood credential for preschool through 3rd grade, with field experience and residencies focused on this specific age group (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2014). In the long term, revise the credential to reflect the birth-to-age-eight continuum of learning and development; and

Ensure that residency models include specific options that focus clinical practice and mentorship in an ECE context (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2021b).

3. Implement and fund strategies to eradicate barriers to obtaining higher education and credentials.

Provide grants to preparation programs so they can effectively serve populations that have been marginalized from higher education;

Provide scholarships and fee/tuition waivers to ensure that members of the current and future workforce have opportunities and supports to acquire education and training at no personal financial cost; and

Include targeted opportunities and supports for people of color as well as individuals who speak English as a second language.

4. Establish and fund compensation parity for TK teachers, regardless of setting.

Articulate a compensation parity policy with K-3 teachers that reflects full parity and includes salary, benefits, and payment for professional responsibilities (Whitebook & McLean, 2017).

5. Establish a set of equity indicators for measuring the impact of public ECE policies on educators, children, and families.

Equity indications should be developed in concert with the early education workforce (center teachers and administrators, family child care providers, and TK teachers), parents, and key stakeholders. Such stakeholders should be more diverse than the existing state committees, which include few practitioners.

Enact required participation in state workforce data systems by all members of the ECE and TK workforce employed in schools, center- and home-based child care settings; and

Fund and require ongoing data collection, analysis, and reporting in order to:

Assess the impact of TK expansion and other ECE policies on the workforce and delivery system across settings and ages of children;

Identify disparities in such areas as compensation, educational attainment, and tenure according to, for example, race, age, and geography; and

Inform local and state policy, implementation, and decision making.

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New Data Shows Early Educators Equipped to Teach TK - Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

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This will create the need for as many as 8,000 to 11,000 additional lead TK teachers.In addition to these credentialed lead teachers, the expansion would require up to 26,000 aides to meet the new ratios.

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Early Care & Education Pathways to Success

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Why ECEPTS? Why Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeship is a respected, tried-and-true approach to training low-income job seekers and placing them on sustainable career pathways while supplying employers with workers who can meet their precise workforce needs.

Building on the apprenticeship tradition, ECEPTS Apprenticeships represent state-of-the-art, replicable models that uniquely address the needs of the ECE workforce by integrating on-the-job training, coaching, no-cost college coursework, cohort learning and increased compensation.

Almost entirely female and in the majority women of color, the ECE workforce includes significant numbers of recent immigrants, working mothers, and first-generation college students who face challenges and barriers to success common among non-traditional students and workers.

To ameliorate these challenges, ECEPTS Apprenticeships incorporate research-based supports that result in consistently high rates of program completion.

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Early Care & Education Pathways to Success (ECEPTS)

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ECEPTS' mission is to advance the rigorous professional development and economic well-being of the Early Care and Education workforce so that all children can receive the full benefits of their early learning and care experiences.

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Erikson Institute: Mapping the Family Child Care Network Landscape 

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Erikson Institute: Mapping the Family Child Care Network Landscape 

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Resource and Referral (R&R) agencies, funded by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Child Care and Development Division (CCDD), are located in every county in the state. The R&Rs help families find child-care that best meets their needs, recruit and train child care providers, and collect data from parents and child care providers. The R&Rs provide a variety of services to parents seeking care, to providers seeking professional development and incentives for remaining in the profession, and to communities seeking support for their youngest residents.

Childcare and Early Education providers, and families, can visit the following web sites for R&Rs in their area at:

For further information, visit the Resource and Referral webpage at the CDSS.

Questions: Early Education Division | 916-322-6233

Last Reviewed: Thursday, August 24, 2023

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Resource and Referral web site information for the childcare and Early Education providers.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding California state law relating to Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) and Transitional Kindergarten (TK).

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Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation

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To strengthen California's capacity to provide equity-driven, clinically rich teacher preparation and support.

The Lab fosters a vibrant learning community committed to operationalizing equity through common program quality standards and state resources - leading to a powerful system of California teacher residency programs. The Lab ensures that all California teacher residencies receive coherent, aligned, needs-based, research-based, developmentally appropriate support and technical assistance. We serve as a conduit for California teacher residency partnerships to easily access a constellation of support that builds their capacity to design effective and sustainable teacher residency programs. Core to the Lab's work is the Labs 10 Key Characteristics of Effective Residencies. These have informed the planning and direction of CTC Grant Funded Teacher Residencies since Fall of 2021. The Statewide Residency Technical Assistance Center (SRTAC) is our active state-wide collaborator. SRTAC provides targeted, developmentally appropriate technical assistance to program participants aligned with residency program outcomes.

Since 2019, the Lab has supported 97 local education agencies and university residency partnerships

Between 2019-2022, 959 residents graduated from California Residency Programs. 65% of resident graduates are BIPOC, outpacing the state's teacher average of 37%.

As enhanced members of the Lab's membership program, 16 residency partnerships accessed and received personalized 1:1 coaching

The Lab hosts two in-person conferences and 5 virtual events a year

88% of residency graduates have been retained after 3 years of teaching

View our upcoming events below, and learn more on our events tab!
I

The Teacher Residency Lab (Lab) is proud to partner with districts and universities across the state of California to diversify the teacher workforce in service of students. The Lab is in California and has team members across the state to support residency programs to recruit, train, and retain teachers of color. We understand the California context and communities and are here to support residency programs across the state.

The Statewide Residency Technical Assistance Center (SRTAC) is our active state-wide collaborator. SRTAC provides targeted, developmentally appropriate technical assistance to program participants aligned with residency program outcomes. This center represents a partnership among five County Offices of Education (COE), The Residency Lab, WestEd, and UCLA Teacher Education Program. Its primary goal is to provide targeted, developmentally appropriate technical assistance and comprehensive support to residency programs, catering to both Teacher and Counselor residencies across California.
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Register and learn more about upcoming events below!

Our team is excited to be hosting a Virtual Power-Up Workshop dedicated to exploring innovative ways to market and recruit candidates into your residency programs. View more information on the PDF flyer here.

Grant Overview Drop-Ins - Participants will receive an overview of the grant opportunities, deadlines, and support to prepare strong teacher residency grant applications to submit to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC).

Grant Writing Support Sessions - Participants who plan to apply to the grant program, will receive grant writing support and resources from a Residency Lab Coach. Coaching and support will be provided in a small group or one-on-one setting.
View a recap of our 2023 California Teacher Residency Annual Symposium!
As we continue to evaluate our program, results, impact, and goals, please check back in on this page to learn more about the impact our model and participants are making!

In our first year of building our residency program, we had some knowledge about residencies and strongly believed in the purpose, but we didn't quite know where to go from there. We found the support and guidance we needed through participating in the Residency Lab. The Lab provided experts who didn't just present ideas; they actually met with us and provided assistance that met our exact needs. Most importantly, the Lab has served as a networking opportunity to connect us with people up and down the state who have experienced similar challenges. - Karin Compise, Resident @ TCSJ

The CA Teacher Residency Lab supported the development and refinement of our systems and structures needed to create an effective teacher residency program. The foundation is set in Oakland, thanks to the CA Lab. So now, if and when OTR leadership changes, the residency will continue strong thanks to this strong foundation. - Zaia Vera, Oakland Teacher Residency

As we reach out and recruit teachers in the residency program that reflect the student populations that they will work with, we've learned that organizing the support and emotional needs of aspiring teachers of color is paramount to their success. We've also learned that by listening and opening up to the discussions of race and equity as a team with mentors, student teachers, supervisors, and university instructors, we will have better success in retaining teachers of color. - North Coast Teacher Residency

View a recap of our 2023 Teacher Residency Annual Symposium!

Explore our Recent Resources

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The Lab is committed to supporting teacher residency programs in California to fulfill their ability to effectively recruit, develop support systems for, provide outreach and communication strategies to, and retain a teacher workforce that reflects a local educational agency community's diversity.

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We are currently processing applications received before: 9/18/2023

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Become an educator with EPP. We offer online credentialing programs in School Administration and Special Education. Now offering a grant for Special Education teachers. Earn your SPED credential tuition free. Contact us to find out more!

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https://mychildcareplan.org/

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We are a network of child care resource and referral (R&R) agencies across California. Do you have a unique child care situation? We have tons of local knowledge and 40 years of experience. We will help you find child care meeting your needs.

With connection with local licensed child care providers and other resources, we can help you find high quality and affordable child care.

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Looking for child care options in California? Our new website provides comprehensive information and resources for parents to make informed decisions. Live local support available.

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UPK Teacher Pipeline Resource Compendium

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UPK Teacher Pipeline Resource Compendium

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California Educators Together UPK/P3 Group

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California Educators Together UPK/P3 Group

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Goal of the Group The Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) and PreKindergarten - Third Grade (P-3) Group was created to share resources and guidance for Local Education Agencies to use in preparatio...

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https://www.erikson.edu/wp-content/uploads/fccnetwork_execsummary1.pdf