Supporters of a High-Quality and Well-Compensated Early Childhood Workforce

NAEYC accreditation is a really big deal.  The accreditation process is arduous, in order for early childhood programs like ours to provide the highest quality in education; it takes a lot of work.  Not only do we strive to comply with the NAEYC standards, we also required to compile strict documentation to prove we have met those important NAEYC standards.  Every accredited program across the country must meet and maintain these high standards to keep the NAEYC certification.

What you may not know is that the NAEYC also lends its powerful voice supporting the importance of early childhood education to Congress, governors and state legislatures and other policy makers throughout the United States.  The NAEYC advocates to help policy makers and public officials understand the benefits of high-quality preschool education.  I am devoting this Carol’s Wall to how CHP addresses one of the recommendations made by the NAEYC’s A Call to Action for the 110th Congress: Support a high-quality and well-compensated early childhood workforce.

When I first started at CHP, there was little teacher compensation other than the thrill of working with children every day and a weekly paycheck.  There was no health insurance, 401 K plan or money set aside for staff development.  It was not until about five or six years ago that CHP was able to provide staff health insurance, a 40l-K plan and provide the funds needed for professional development. 

NAEYC accreditation could not have been achieved unless we had an early childhood educated staff and ongoing professional development.

Providing the CHP staff with stellar professional development opportunities has been a wonderful thing.  During the year and every summer, my teachers and I take classes and attend conferences.  Last month, I completed the 18th and final class for a Children’s Program Administrator Credential (CPAC) from the School of Professional Studies/CUNY Early Childhood Institute.   The CPAC is a series of 18 one-credit graduate-level courses in management and leadership in Early Childhood programs which result in a Children’s Program Administrator Credential from New York State.

This winter, Nicole, Juliet, Amanda and I spent an evening at All Souls School for a workshop called The Process of Observation and Recording—New Ways to Problem Solve in Your Classroom.  Lessons learned from this workshop were brought back to CHP and shared with the entire staff.

Our entire staff takes workshops through the Continuing Professional Studies (CPS) at Bank Street—Here is a list of some of our Bank Street staff development:

• Working Effectively with your Teaching Team
• Creative Block Building
• Effective Routines and Smooth Transitions in Pre-School Settings
• Play as a tool for Early Intervention 
• The Reggio-Emilia Approach: Interpreting Theory and Practice for Schools in the United States
• Supporting Language Development in the Early Childhood Classroom

Amanda, Krishtine and Hilary are also attending graduate school, learning more and more about education every week.  Amanda attended a evening lecture by “one of the fathers of modern linguistics” Noam Chomsky this winter too.  

Nicole, Juliet, Lori and Amanda are attending a two-day workshop at CUNY City College called—Inside and Outside—Childhood, the Natural World and the Play of Imagining.   Nicole and I attended  the 2010 Annual NYAEYC Fall Conference and I hope to send more teachers to conferences like this in the future.

Whenever a staff member is able to take advantage of a course of lecture, we use something called a “turn-key” approach.  All the materials and pertinent information learned by the attendee are shared with the entire staff at our Friday staff meeting.  This way, everyone can benefit from the experience when the lessons learned are introduced in the classroom.