The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program is outcome-driven. T.E.A.C.H. outcomes address the enduring challenges that plague the early childhood field — high turnover, low compensation and insufficient teacher education. Data collection is critical to the success and expansion of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program. Through systematic data collection, it is easy to see the important contribution T.E.A.C.H. makes the early childhood field. Each year, Center staff collects, collates and analyzes data from all T.E.A.C.H. state programs and produces an annual national program report that highlights the collective accomplishments of all T.E.A.C.H. states.
Most T.E.A.C.H. recipients begin their college journey with a T.E.A.C.H. scholarship. Some have taken a few courses but never finished a degree. A few have degrees in other fields but no early childhood education coursework. Given where our recipients begin their educational journey with T.E.A.C.H., the outcomes speak to their tenacity and commitment to their education.
2023-24 T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Accomplishments
Participant Outputs, Demographics and Outcomes
Outputs
Funding and Support for T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood®
- $64.3 million funded T.E.A.C.H. Programs in 22 states
Education
- 17,296 recipients were awarded scholarships
- 121,890 credit hours were completed
- 3.38 GPA was earned on average for recipients on Associate Degree scholarships
- 3.5 GPA was earned on average for recipients on Bachelor’s Degree scholarships
Colleges and Universities
- 326 two-year and 237 four-year higher education institutions provided college courses and benefited from enrollment
Outcomes
Average Annual Credit Hours Completed by Degree Scholarship Recipients
- 15.27 — Recipients on Associate Degree scholarships
- 17.93 — Recipients on Bachelor’s Degree scholarships
Average Annual Increases in Recipient Wages for Degree Scholarship Recipients
- 13% — Recipients on Associate Degree scholarships
- 13% — Recipients on Bachelor’s Degree scholarships
Average Annual Recipient Retention Rates in States with Associate and/or Bachelor’s Degree Scholarships
- 95% — Recipients on Associate Degree scholarships
- 96% — Recipients on Bachelor’s Degree scholarships
Demographics
Diversity of the Workforce
- 42% of Associate Degree recipients were people of color and/or Latinx origin
- 41% of Bachelor’s Degree recipients were people of color and/or Latinx origin
Diversity of Program Auspices and Children Served
- 32.2% of recipients worked with children in publicly funded prekindergarten programs
- 14.5% of recipients worked with the Head Start population
- 48% of recipients worked with children under 3 years of age*
- 66.5% or recipients worked with 3 to 5-year-olds*
*Some worked with both age groups
Organizational Capacity Building
T.E.A.C.H. helps build the capacity, both organizationally and financially, of organizations that serve the early childhood workforce.
- From an initial $23,100 investment in North Carolina in 1990, T.E.A.C.H., as of 2024, has leveraged more than $793 million. These funds provide direct scholarship support and help statewide organizations build their capacity to administer programs and support the advocacy base for the field
- From one state T.E.A.C.H. Program in North Carolina in 1990, T.E.A.C.H. programs were running in 22 states in FY24.
Higher Education Program Capacity Building
Each year, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® programs all across the nation help build the capacity of higher education institutions to meet the need for flexible education options for the early childhood workforce. As scholarship dollars in the form of tuition payments are directed to these institutions, early childhood degree programs see a marked increase in their student populations, and they are able to hire additional faculty and grow their infrastructure with resources from long-term student investments.
Long-term Systemic Change
Scholarships facilitate long-term systemic change in states by helping to create access to higher education that was not available before T.E.A.C.H. Improvements have been made in higher education including more course offerings, more colleges with early childhood degree programs, more courses offered in times, places and modalities to more effectively reach the workforce and better articulation agreements. Gains have also been made in states’ professional development systems, including improvements in regulatory standards for the education and continuing professional development of the workforce.
Education Matters…
for children
For children to flourish and grow in early childhood programs, they must have consistent nurturing relationships with caring adults who are responsive to their unique needs. Learning does not happen for children in the absence of these relationships, and it is the adults in their classrooms who are the role models that help make sense of the world around them. For children to thrive and benefit from rich language environments and challenging and varied learning experiences, they must have teachers who are active learners themselves.
for the women in the field
Education has an enormous effect on the lifelong earnings of women and the future of their own children. Most women in the early childhood workforce have children of their own, and maternal education and stable family income are closely linked to a child’s overall educational success. As a woman’s education level increases, there is a direct correlation to moving out of poverty. As higher education has become the foundational norm for most professional workforces, this must be encouraged for the early care and education workforce as well.
View the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® and Child Care WAGE$® Annual National Report
Each year, 15,000 to 20,000 teachers, directors and family child care providers receive T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® scholarships across the U.S.
- Participants demonstrate mastery of coursework, with a grade point average ranging from 3.38 to 3.5
- Annual earnings increase by 13% for T.E.A.C.H. program bachelor’s and associate degree scholarship recipients