• Bachelor's Degrees and Specialization Requirements
• Assistant Teachers
• Articulation Agreements
• TEACH Programs
• Professional Development

With research showing the benefit of having a well-educated teacher in the classroom, more and more policymakers are moving to require pre-k teachers in publicly-funded programs to have a bachelor's degree and certification in early childhood education. These policies put early childhood teachers at the same required education level as K-12 teachers and promote positive educational outcomes for all children.

Principles for good policy:

• Require that pre-k teachers to have a BA degree and appropriate credentialing in early childhood education.
• Institute a gradual phase in of the policy to give current teachers the chance to obtain a degree while continuing to teach at their same school.
• Hold all new teachers and programs accountable for the high standard immediately.
• Include funding to increase pay and benefits for pre-k teachers with BAs. Teachers in all settings – both schools and community-based centers – should earn a salary equal to that of their K-12 counterparts. Without competitive pay, many qualified teachers will be forced to leave pre-k and teach other grades due to financial constraints. This constant turnover is not conducive to a successful pre-k program.
• Offer community-based programs "tiered reimbursement" based on the level of staff qualifications. This means the reimbursement rates vary depending on the educational attainment of the teacher and/or assistant teacher. The higher the degree, the more funding the program receives.

Examples:

• Since 1990, Kentucky has provided pre-k to four-year-old children who are eligible for free or reduced-priced school lunches. A comprehensive education reform effort in 2004 led to the passage of a bill requiring that all new pre-k teachers have a BA degree and early childhood certificate.
• The New Jersey Supreme Court required all Abbott Preschool Program teachers to obtain both a BA and certification in early childhood. In addition, all teachers, including those at private centers, are paid according to public school teacher salary scale.

Pre-k classes are typically taught by a two-person team: a lead teacher and an assistant. Evidence points to a relationship between assistant teacher qualifications and classroom quality. Because the quality and quantity of the interactions between pre-k children and the teacher and assistant are so important, many states mandate specific training for assistant teachers.

Principles for good policy:

• Require that all assistant teachers have at least a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or equivalent. The preferable requirement is an AA degree with a focus or additional credential in early childhood education.
• Institute a gradual phase-in of the policy, as with the requirements for lead teachers, to give assistant teachers already working in a pre-k program the chance to meet the new requirements. New assistant teachers and new programs should be expected to meet the new requirements immediately.

Examples:

• In 2005, Tennessee's Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee legislature passed a bill expanding the state's pilot pre-k system. This bill includes language requiring that assistant teachers have the CDA credential.
• The high-quality More at Four program in North Carolina operates in public schools, private child care centers, and Head Start programs. Nonpublic providers are eligible only if they have top quality ratings of four or five under the state's child care licensing system. Nonpublic programs are also required to match the teacher credentialing requirements (CDA or meet NCLB requirements) within four years.

Articulation - the process of comparing courses within a field for transfer from one higher education institution to another - requires agreements between two- and four-year colleges outlining which courses can be transferred for credits. Without such agreements, many students who move from pursuing an AA to a BA are required to repeat classes. Lack of articulation agreements can significantly slow the process of building a qualified corps of pre-k educators. Institutions of higher education have been slow to address articulation problems, prompting state officials to pass legislation mandating agreements and even setting up alternative degrees.

Principles for good policy:

• Consider the needs of the institutions and the students, both those with a completed AA and those still pursuing a degree.
• Identify core courses in the subject and general degree requirements in the articulation agreement as well as procedures for transfers and appeals.
• Determine a time period for regular review of the agreement to respond to curriculum and course changes and any new concerns.
• Require that all public institutions in the state participate and collect data to track compliance. Further, encourage independent colleges and universities to participate and voluntarily sign the agreement.
• Offer incentives to private institutions of higher education to adhere to the agreement.

Examples:

• Prior to 2006, individual higher education institutions in Illinois had established discrete, regional articulation agreements but had not pursued a larger statewide articulation system. To remedy the situation, the institutions jointly approved a new degree and curriculum, the associate of arts in teaching (AAT) with a focus in early childhood education, from which graduates could easily transfer into a BA program.
• The New Jersey legislature passed a bill requiring public institutions of higher education in the state to sign a collective articulation agreement for a variety of fields including early childhood education.
• Some states, like North Carolina, already mandate a comprehensive articulation agreement, but may not include early childhood education as one of the fields of study.

One of the best ways to build a state pre-k system is to work with child care programs and providers who already spend their days with young children. The TEACH (Teacher Education And Compensation Helps) Early Childhood program provides funding for child care professionals to attend classes at a participating college or university and earn credits toward a CDA or an associate or bachelor's degree in early childhood education. While the components of the TEACH program vary from state to state, the scholarship is different from other professional development funds in that it will pay up to 80 percent of the cost of books and tuition; provide a travel stipend; help pay for a child care substitute to free up enrollees to attend class; and provide a compensation increase after completion of contracted credit hours. TEACH programs are already in place in several states and are funded through a combination of public and private dollars.

Principles for good policy:

• Establish a coalition or advisory council with multiple stakeholders, including businesses and foundations, and designate a non-governmental agency to to manage the program.
• Supplement stable state funding with private funding.
• Ensure that all early childhood stakeholders, including child care and pre-k teachers and directors, collaborate to develop the TEACH program in their state. Inform center directors that they can set up pre-k classrooms and receive state funding when their teachers are certified. Include outreach to current state-funded providers to encourage child care workers and assistant teachers to participate.
• Offer loan forgiveness for teachers who are paying for their higher education and are willing to teach in a pre-k classroom in the state for a minimum number of years.

Examples:

• TEACH was originally created in North Carolina to provide scholarships, encourage higher education, increase salaries for newly graduated educators, and retain educated professionals in early learning classrooms. The program used initial funding from private businesses and foundations but later received full funding from the state. This system has been recreated in many other states with the help of Child Care Service Association.
• New Mexico has replicated the TEACH project and has funded the scholarships through a combination of federal, state, and private dollars. The New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children operates the program.
• Bright from the Start, Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning, provides their own form of scholarships, funded with state and federal monies.

Good teachers are actively engaged in their continuing professional development, and benefit from enhanced training on an ongoing basis, updating their skills and knowledge in accordance with the latest research. Research indicates that teachers receiving more than 15 hours of training use more appropriate, positive, and engaging teaching practices with children. To help teachers maintain their training and learn about new methods in early childhood, states have created policies that require their pre-k teachers to participate in professional development in-service training.

Principles for good policy:

• Require that all teachers and assistant teachers participate in a minimum of 15 training hours per year to improve interactions between students and educators.
• Establish and fund technical assistance centers to help pre-k centers identify programs, trainers, and ideas for managing their professional development services.
• Expand access to continuing professional development to teachers in rural areas and those pursuing education outside of the classroom through alternative methods such as online training.
• Encourage Head Start, public school, child care, and other pre-k partners to collaborate on joint professional development sessions to help cut costs.

Examples:

• CIRCLE, the professional development component of the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM) project, offers teachers in schools and community-based settings training that includes sessions on best practices, language development, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, written expression, reading aloud, and print and book awareness.
• In 2004, Louisiana's Nonpublic Schools Early Childhood Development Program added a requirement of 18 hours of in-service per year for all pre-k teachers. The program also requires an intensive, mandatory, two-day training workshop for all teachers and assistants.