The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program provides scholarships to child care teachers, directors and family child care home providers to complete college course work in early childhood education and to increase their earnings. These scholarships enable early educators to take coursework leading to credentials and degrees by making it possible for them to afford both the time and expense of going to school.
T.E.A.C.H. is a national, evidence-based strategy that creates access to higher education for early educators working with young children in out-of-home settings. It also helps states leverage the financial resources necessary to provide access to higher education and support for the workforce. And it creates new and diverse advocates who are necessary to support sustainable policy changes. From building capacity in higher education to helping individuals attain their educational goals, T.E.A.C.H. can be a change agent in every state.
T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Components: The 5 C’s
Comprehensive Scholarship
Most often provides signification support for tuition, fees, books, travel and paid release time.
College Education
Requirement to complete a specified number of credit hours per contract.
Compensation
Provision of a required bonus or raise upon completion of required credit hours.
Commitment
Requirement for scholarship recipient to remain in their child care setting for a specified time period upon receipt of bonus or raise.
Counselor
Individuals who are housed within each T.E.A.C.H. agency and support scholarship recipients to ensure student success.
Resources to Support Your Efforts in Going to College!
Federal Student Aid Resources
- For information on Federal Grants and Scholarships
click here. - For information on general federal student aid click here.
- For information on applying for aid including grants, scholarships and loans click here.
- For information on federal loans click here.
- For information on loan repayment options click here.
Additional Student Support Resources
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program Goals
- To provide educational scholarship opportunities for people working in regulated early education and care settings including child care centers and family child care homes, pre-K classrooms and Head Start and Early Head Start sites
- To increase the knowledge base of early childhood professionals working with young children, thus improving the care these children receive
- To encourage child care programs to support the continuing education of their staff
- To provide increased compensation that is directly related to increased education
- To reduce staff turnover by supporting the above goals while also requiring from participants a commitment to child care after their scholarship year
- To provide a sequential professional development path for teachers, directors and family child care home providers currently in the field
- To create a model of partnership for improving the quality of care that children receive
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Programs Around the Country
Locate a T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program in your state. If your state currently does not have a T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program, you can contact the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center for more information.