Current Early Care
and Education Initiatives
Periodically in this e-newsletter, we will provide updates on key professional
development initiatives taking place in Illinois. Additional information and
updates about each initiative will be made available on the Gateways Web site.
Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE)
There is
increasing evidence that a
four-year college degree in early childhood education or a related
field is the best preparation to teach young children. And, in fact, there is a national trend to raise teacher qualifications in early
childhood programs. Yet, the cost of a four-year college degree is beyond the
financial budgets of many, particularly when measured against the
expected salaries of those teaching in early childhood programs.
The newly developed Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) degree in Early
Childhood Education (ECE) is an effort to increase the numbers of early
childhood teachers with four-year college degrees by creating a pathway between
two- and four-year institutions of higher education. Students enrolled in an
AAT degree program can expect to have equal status when they transfer at the
beginning of their junior year with students who began college at the four-year
institution—so-called native students.
The AAT in ECE has evolved over the course of several years, and as with most
new initiatives, it is the result of the efforts of many individuals. The
passage of House Resolution (HR) 845 in June of 2004 provided a legislative
directive and an impetus to develop articulation agreements between two- and
four-year institutions of higher education, a critical element of the AAT
degree.
The negotiations and discussions leading up to the AAT in ECE were
time-consuming for good reason. Since the AAT degree transfers as a “package”
of courses, two- and four-year institutions needed to feel confident that the
“package” contained the general education and the professional education course
components necessary for a meaningful and valid BA degree in Early Childhood
Education. Details of the proposed model of the AAT in Early Childhood
Education can be found at
http://www.illinoiseducator.illinois.edu/special/aat_ece1.pdf.
The process of developing the AAT degree in ECE was successful on many levels.
Today, four institutions of higher education have AAT degree programs in
place—Black Hawk College, Illinois Valley Community College, Lincoln Land
Community College, and Oakton Community College. Applications for an AAT degree
in ECE are in process at Lake Land College, Morton College, Rend Lake College,
Southwestern Illinois College, and Triton College. A regional conference on the
AAT model was held in Chicago on October 5, 2007. That conference was sponsored
by the Illinois Community
College Board and the Illinois
Board of Higher Education and resulted in several more requests for
information about developing AAT programs. A second regional conference on the
AAT model is planned for March 28, 2008, in southern Illinois. The exact
location is yet to be determined.
In addition to these successes, the process of developing the AAT model in ECE
also helped bring together education faculty from various institutions of
higher education around the state, many of whom had never before discussed
issues of professional preparation of students. These discussions have led to
other promising collaborations for those entering the field of early care and
education.
For more information, contact
John Noak, Consultant
Illinois Community College Board
217-557-7120
jrnoak@yahoo.com
http://www.iccb.state.il.us/
Bilingual Early Childhood Certification Assistance Program (BECCA)
The
Bilingual Early Childhood Certification Assistance Program (BECCA),
administered by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), was started in
2007 to increase the number of certified and highly qualified bilingual early
childhood teachers in Lake and McHenry Counties.
Applicants to the BECCA program must meet certain criteria. In addition to
having a desire to work with young children, applicants must have at least a
bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in any field, be fluent in
English and Spanish (or another target language), have the ability to pass
state certification exams (e.g., Basic Skills Test, Target Language Proficiency
Test), meet the requirements for admission to the Northern Illinois University
Graduate School, be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, and be
committed to teaching in any publicly funded PreK-3 program in Lake or McHenry
County for at least three years upon completion of the BECCA program (which
includes time spent teaching while enrolled in the program).
BECCA currently has a cohort of 30 participants. These individuals came to their
interest in teaching in an early childhood bilingual classroom from different
paths. Many came from another teaching profession. Others came from the social
service field, or the legal, marketing, and retail trades. The current BECCA
cohort is working on a sequence of 19 courses, which are scheduled to be
completed in the fall of 2010. The curriculum is offered through Northern
Illinois University (NIU) but held at University Center of Lake County in
Grayslake on two evenings per week. Participants experience being on the NIU
campus on “visitation days” that are scheduled periodically for participants to
meet with NIU’s Dean of Education and with various education faculty. Upon
completion of the program, BECCA participants will earn an M.S.Ed. in Literacy
Education from NIU with an emphasis in ESL/bilingual education and meet the
requirements for the TYPE 04 Early Childhood certification along with teaching
approvals for ESL and bilingual education.
The BECCA program pays full tuition and fees for its participants. Program
participants must pay the costs of textbooks, transportation, and fees for
state certification applications and tests. To help participants experience
success, BECCA provides an e-mentor who taught in the field of English Language
Learning (ELL) for many years and can respond to individual questions about
transitioning to an early childhood classroom setting, planning appropriate
activities, and addressing behavior challenges. The e-mentor can also conduct
on-site observations of BECCA participants in their respective early childhood
classrooms, if needed. An interactive Web site provides resources and
facilitates discussions among BECCA participants. Although BECCA participants
are responsible for finding their own employment upon completion of the
program, the interactive Web site is also a place where position notices are
posted. For those needing assistance passing the Basic Skills Test (required of
BECCA participants), several testing preparation workshops are offered by NIU
staff members throughout the year.
BECCA shares administrative similarities with the
Bilingual Transition to K-8 Teaching Project (BTTT), another
ISBE-funded program. BECCA and BTTT differ in one important aspect: BTTT
stipulates that its graduates teach in the Chicago Public Schools or in one of
12 partner school districts. Graduates of the BECCA project, however, have
greater flexibility and can teach in any publicly funded PreK-3 program in Lake
or McHenry County.
The BECCA program coordinators hope that the early success of the program
participants and the continued demand for highly qualified bilingual early
childhood teachers in Illinois will help insure its continuation after the
initial cohort graduates, but future funding of the program is uncertain at
this time.
For more information, contact
Bilingual Early Childhood Certification Assistance Program (BECCA)
Lewis Cardenas, Project Coordinator
lcardenas@thecenterweb.org
http://thansitiontoteaching.com
New Gateways Resources
The following resources and resource links have been added to the Web site since
the last issue of Inside Gateways.
Research Reports
Caregiver Well-Being Affects Academic Achievement
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/%7Esnapshots/snap48.pdf
A Center Piece of the PreK Puzzle: Providing State Prekindergarten in Child Care
Centers
http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/NWLCPreKReport2007.pdf
Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation: Illinois Summary
http://www.epi.org/books/enriching/states/il.pdf
Making the Grade: Making the Case for Well-Educated, Well-Trained Teaching Staff
in Early Care and Education
http://www.wccf.org/pdf/making_the_grade.pdf
Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal Findings from
the Study of Promising Afterschool Programs
http://www.policystudies.com/studies/youth/Promising%20Programs%20FINAL.pdf
Research on Early Childhood Education Outcomes
http://www.publicpolicyforum.org/Matrix.htm
Research Synthesis Points on Early Childhood Inclusion
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~npdci/assets/media/products/NDPCI_ResearchSynthesis_9-2007.pdf
A Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy: Using Evidence to Improve
Outcomes in Learning, Behavior, and Health for Vulnerable Children (1.9 MB)
http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu/content/downloads/Policy_Framework.pdf
Career Opportunities and Job Links
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Teachers—Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary,
Middle, and Secondary
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Child Care Workers
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos170.htm
Illinois Association of School Administrators Job Bank
http://www.illinoiseducationjobbank.org/pages/
National Association for the Education of Young Children Career Forum
http://www.naeyc.org/careerforum/
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