NLU’s National College of Education recently received its third round of funding for $330,100 from the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), now totaling $1.2 million, to support early childhood teacher preparation.
The grant, referred to as the Early Childhood Credential Completion Cohort (EC4) program, provides financial support to a group of experienced early childhood educators to pursue an accelerated program of licensure and graduate study. Now entering its third year, the program has enrolled over 80 students to date. It is one of the several Early Childhood Education programs at NLU, which enroll over 200 students annually.
The accelerated, online model is designed for experienced early childhood teachers, and emphasizes collaboration among teacher candidates, university faculty, school-based mentors, and university supervisors. School communities act as experiential sites of practice as teachers work with their students to advance teaching knowledge and skills. NLU partners with public and private early childhood programs to recruit incumbent teachers. The first year of the grant supported a cohort of El Valor and YMCA teachers, the largest community-based organization providers of early childhood education in the Chicagoland area.
Led by NCE Early Childhood Education faculty members Drs. Xiaoli Wen, Ayn Keneman, and Sherri Bressman, the EC4 program provides early childhood educators working in community-based early childhood programs with an accelerated year-long pathway to earn a master's degree and professional educator licensure. Chelsea Witherby, '21 M.A.T. Early Childhood Education had this to say about the program: “This program has helped prepare me to teach and collaborate with a diverse group of young learners, advocate for students and their families, and stay informed on local policies and programs that can positively impact students. I am incredibly grateful to have been part of this unique program, as the program will help me in getting a substantial increase in salary. I am eager to share the knowledge I’ve gained from my mentors and peers.”
To date, the grant-funded program has graduated 23 students, enrolled 33 students beginning in summer 2021, and continues with a cohort of 27 teachers beginning in winter 2022. NLU expects to continue to offer the accelerated early childhood education program to qualified educators starting in spring 2022, and is exploring additional site-based cohorts in partnership with local education agencies.
In addition to this accelerated model, NCE has developed several pathways for aspiring teachers to pursue licensure and degrees in early childhood education. These include a year-long residency program, now being implemented in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), D187 and D65, an alternative teacher licensure model (with TFA in CPS), a year long internship program for teacher candidates, and its “traditional” MAT program, available in online and blended formats. These pathways are designed to meet the diverse needs of professional advancement for in-service and pre-service early childhood professionals with different backgrounds and professional experiences. The Early Childhood Education program at NLU has long been a leading program in preparing early childhood professionals and serving young children in the greater Chicagoland area.
To hear more about EC4 experiences, click here.
