Building Careers: EEC Purpose and Goals

Building Careers in Early Education and Care

The purpose of the Building Careers grant program is to fund college courses and academic advising for early education and care and out-of-school time educators who are seeking a degree in early childhood education or a related field. The program is designed to help non-traditional students succeed academically and professionally by providing career and academic advising, using a cohort model, and scheduling courses at times that are convenient for working adults. Currently, 21 colleges and universities throughout the Commonwealth receive Building Careers funding. Each is expected to maintain a cohort of 20-30 students.

EEC is encouraging existing grantees to work towards a better aligned and integrated service delivery model. Grant funds may be used to fund early education and care and out-of-school time courses addressing children from infancy through school age, and general education courses necessary for educators to complete their degrees. All funded early education and care and out-of-school time courses must align with EEC’s Core Competencies (the Core Competencies are listed in Appendix D). All funded early education and care courses for preschool-aged children must align with the Early Childhood Program Standards and the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences (which are based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks). The Standards and Guidelines may be found on the EEC website at: http://www.eec.state.ma.us /CurriculumGuidelinesAndStandards.aspx.

Institutions of higher education are encouraged to make meaningful connections between the required general education courses and the courses developed for Building Careers students. To this end, courses funded through this grant should address the following: meeting the developmental needs of children, making appropriate referrals, and adapting the curriculum for children with disabilities or who are not proficient in English.

 Special Education Coursework (optional)

The Special Education Coursework funding is intended to enhance the ability of early education and care and out-of-school time educators to work with children with disabilities, to plan and implement a curriculum, and to assess the needs of all children including those with disabilities and those who are not proficient in English.  It is also necessary for those individuals responsible for the professional development of educators working with children with disabilities to provide appropriate instruction on making appropriate referrals and adapting the curriculum for children with disabilities or those who are not proficient in English. An important program goal is to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in early education and care and out-of-school time programs.

EEC’s goal is to create a professional development continuum that is inclusive of all types of settings and positions within the early education and care and out-of-school time field. EEC is committed to creating a professional development system for the early education and care and out-of-school time workforce that promotes increasing professional development opportunities and degree attainment, maximizes resources, and functions collaboratively and effectively at the local and regional levels. To that end, the priorities for these grant funds are as follows:

1.  To  increase the number of educators in the field with a degree in early childhood education or a related field;

2.  To increase access to higher education for early education and care and out-of-school time educators in the field by providing:

• Financial assistance to support college level coursework in early education and care and out-of-school time, general education, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and developmental coursework;
• Academic, mentoring, and career advising;
• Worksite observations and supervision;
• Non-traditional coursework (i.e., evening and weekend offerings and distance learning) and support services;  
• Transfer and articulation agreements between institutions of higher education;

3.  To promote high quality professional development that:

• Addresses the needs of children and youth of all abilities;
• Is based on EEC’s Core Competencies (see Appendix D);
• Aligns coursework addressing preschool children with the Early Childhood Program Standards and the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences;
• Meets diverse learner needs, including entry level staff and those in leadership positions;
• Is provided through non-traditional means, including night and weekend courses, and off-campus approved distance learning; and
• To encourage partnerships and broad-based collaborative planning efforts that leverage and maximize resources across public and private agencies including CCR&R agencies, CPC programs, family child care systems, Head Start, Massachusetts Family Networks (MFN) programs, and the Parent-Child Home Programs (PCHP), institutions of higher education, local education agencies, educational collaboratives, and vocational-technical high schools (see Appendix F for a list of vocational-technical high schools in Massachusetts).  Contact information for CCR&R agencies, CPC programs, MFN and PCHP programs is available on EEC’s website, www.eec.state.ma.us.

Building Careers Grant