Explicit Competencies and Professional …...MISSION CRITICAL: Explicit Competencies and...

MISSION CRITICAL: Explicit Competencies and Professional Development for Infant-Toddler Educators

2016 QRIS National MeetingJuly 13, 2016New Orleans, LA

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WELCOME

Introductions & Session Overview

Mission Critical

•Critical Needs & Risks •Critical Opportunities•Critical Competencies•Critical Efforts

3Copyright © 2015 ZERO TO THREE. All rights reserved.

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Infant‐Toddler Educators

Workforce Landscape

Critical Needs & Risks

• More than 11 million infants and toddlers in the US• Nearly half need daily early care and education (ECE) services• Vast majority of infant toddler ECE programs are mediocre to poor quality

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Photos (left to rig

ht): © iStock

© Steven De

rn, ©

 Sarah

 LeM

oine

Critical Needs & Risks

6Photo: © ZERO TO THREE

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Critical Connections

700 New Neural Connections Every Second

• Effective educators are the key to creating experiences that optimize infants’ and toddlers’ development

• High-quality caregiving can be a critical resource for children whose connections in their homes and communities are fragile or broken

28%

36%

17% 19%

13%

24%

17%

45%

33% 33%

15% 15%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

High School (or GED)or less

Some college Associate's degree Bachelor's degree orhigher

Percen

tage

 of W

orkforce

Highest Level of Education

Educational Attainment of National Early Childhood Workforce 

Center‐based workforce serving infants and toddlers (birth‐3 years)

Center‐based workforce serving preschoolers (3‐5 years, not yet in kindergarten)

Listed home‐based providers

Source: National Survey of Early Care and Education Project Team. (2013 & 2016). 8

Critical Needs & Risks

Critical Needs & Risks

125%

82%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

with family of 2 with family of 4

% of  2015

 Fed

eral Poverty Level

Median Income for Center‐Based Teachers Serving Babies and Toddlers (0‐3)

Sources: Adjusted and adapted from the National Survey of Early Care and Education Project Team. (2013); and   ASPE 2015 Federal Poverty Guidelines. 

of FPL = “low income”

of FPL = “poor”

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Critical Needs & Risks

125%

82%

147%

97%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

with family of 2 with family of 4

% of  2015

 Fed

eral Poverty Level

Median Income for Center‐Based Teachers Serving Babies and Toddlers (0‐3)

all infant‐toddler center‐basedteachers

infant‐toddler center‐based withBachelor's degree

Sources: Adjusted and adapted by ZERO TO THREE from the National Survey of Early Care and Education Project Team. (2013);  and ASPE 2015 Federal Poverty Guidelines. 

low income poor

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Critical Needs & Risks

“In particular, concerted attention is needed to incorporate … the workforce development needs of those who provide care and education for infants and toddlers. These professionals have historically had the weakest, least explicit and coherent, and least resourced infrastructure for professional learning and workforce supports.” (IOM & NRC, 2015, p. 504) 

Demographics of our Infant/Toddler Educators

Demographics of our Infant/Toddler Educators

****These statistics represent a sample size of 11,039 from the PD Registry. The information is how students identified themselves and is unverified. The invalid/incomplete information was excluded.

GenderFemale 7,770 70%

Male 271 2%

EthnicityAsian 108 1%

Black/African American 2,054 19%Hispanic/Latino 579 5%Native American 16 Less than 1%

White 5,257 48%

Demographics of our Infant/Toddler EducatorsAge Ranges

Average ageUnder 18 years old 20 16.7 years old Less than 1%18 – 25 years old 2,664 22.5 years old 24%26 – 35 years old 2,767 29.8 years old 25%36 -50 years old 2,190 42.8 years old 20%Over 50 years old 1,941 59.2 years old 18%

Years of Experience0 – 5 years 5,779 52%

6 – 10 years 2,229 20%

11 – 20 years 1,873 17%

21 or more 1,138 10%

Demographics of our Infant/Toddler Educators

EducationLess than high school 177 2%

GED/high school diploma 2,917 26%

Non credit adult education 178 2%

some college/no degree 2,653 24%

2 year AA 1,435 13%

4 year BA/BS 2,812 25%MA/MS 805 7%

Ph. D 44 Less than 1%

Size of the Infant/Toddler Workforce• 2,200 licensed centers serving infants and toddlers• Largest percentage of teachers and assistant teachers work with infant/toddler

• Over 12,300 licensed center teachers and asst. teachers!

• 6,600 licensed family child care providers with infants and toddlers enrolled

Educational Attainment of Licensed Center Teachers by Age Group Served

19%

32%

21%

27%

48%

35%

12%

6%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Preschool

Infants/Toddlers

No Degree Associate Degree Bachelor's Degree Graduate Degree

Years Experience w/ Infants/Toddlers

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Teacher Assistant Teacher FCC Provider

High School/GED Some College, No Degree Community College Certificate

Associates Degree Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree

Challenges to Obtaining PD

• Time• Cost• Location• Quality of Training• Content of Training• “I don’t know what I

want/need!”

National Resources & State StoriesSeeds for Collaboration & Change, Successes to Build On

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Critical Needs & Opportunities

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IOM & NRC workforce report recommendations include:• Assess and revise current professional competencies and guidance

• Develop and sustain foundational ANDspecific competencies

• Embed in systems

Source: IOM & NRC, 2015

Critical Needs & Opportunities 

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• How do we advocate for and build partnerships, policies, and systems that respect the differences and also build common ground?

• Workforce capacity building, career progression, and longevity can be supported by the foundation of consistent competency expectations

• Portable across roles, settings, sectors, states• Stackable from one level to the next

Copyright © 2015 ZERO TO THREE. All rights reserved.

Critical Needs & Opportunities

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• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Reauthorization and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)

• Early Head Start‐Child Care Partnership Grants

• Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge (RTT‐ELC) Grants

• Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework

• National Consensus EffortsBuilding on recent and targeted success

National Needs & Opportunities

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POWER TO THE PROFESSION

NAEYC Announces a New National Collaboration to Set Professional Guidelines for All Early Childhood Educators

National Opportunities

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ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant‐Toddler Educators™ 

National Consensus Focus

Source: IOM & NRC, 2015

Critical Needs & Opportunities

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There were no detailed national infant‐toddler competencies

Lack of specific pedagogy targeted  PD critical to optimize infant‐toddler 

development and learning

Lack of considerations for working with 

vulnerable populations and multi‐language learners

Lack of enoughinfant‐toddler 

focused PD and the capacity to offer it

Critical Needs & Opportunities

Intentionally fills identified gaps and advances the call from the IOM & NRC workforce report to: 

1. Support the infant‐toddler ECE workforce 

2. Develop specific and specialized competencies for this population that build on those for all of the ECE workforce 

3. Ensure that competencies address the cross‐cultural skills needed to work with diverse populations

28www.zerotothree.org/CriticalCompetencies

Critical Competencies

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COLLABORATIONCenter for the Study of Social Policy

Collaborative for Understanding the Pedagogy of Infant/Toddler Development’s (CUPID) 

Council for Professional Recognition

Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

Irving Harris Foundation 

Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI‐AIMH)

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

WestEd

Critical Competencies

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ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant‐Toddler Educators™ 

Copyright © 2016 ZERO TO THREE. All rights reserved.

Criteria Relationships

Copyright © 2016 ZERO TO THREE. All rights reserved.

State Example: Overview Alignment with Pennsylvania Content Areas

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State Example: Overview Alignment with Illinois Content Areas

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Critical Competencies

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ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant‐Toddler Educators™ suite of products and services

• Available now:Professional Criteria EbookTechnical Assistance

• Being developed and piloted through September 2017:→Professional Development Modules→Training‐of‐Trainers and Trainer Certification→Self‐assessment Tool

Infant Toddler Credential Creation

RTT GrantPA History with I/T CredentialStarting pointCredentials for the Infant/Toddler Child Care

Workforce: A Technical Assistance Tool for Child Care and Development Fund Administrators http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/ITC_TA_Tool.pdf?docID=4245

Infant Toddler Credential Creation

Choosing workgroup members Initial decisionsLevelsCross-sectorCourses

TA from Zero to Three

Infant Toddler Credential Creation

ZTT Critical Competencies PilotMarketing documentsProject Overview and LevelsAmbassador Toolkits

Subcommittee workMarketing/Systems/IncentivesCoursework/ContentAssessment/Documentation

Infant Toddler Credential Creation

ZTT Gaps Analysis of courseworkRecommendations Report to OCDEL Revisioning work for QRIS and TA in PA

Next StepsWork with higher ed and training organizations on

coursesWork on course/content gapsPilot Level 1 (January 2017)

Infant Toddler Credential Creation

The NeedIncrease Teachers with Specialized Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions to Work With Infants/Toddlers

Workforce is Key to Quality!

Support ECE Professionals in improving their knowledge, skills, 

and abilities

Key Strategy: Attain the Gateways 

Infant Toddler Credential

Drivers for Our Work• Increased recognition of and attention to the critical role teachers and caregivers play for children 0‐3• Research• Infant/Toddler Competencies• Transforming the Workforce report

• ExceleRate® Illinois requires teaching staff in infant/toddler classrooms to hold a Gateways Infant Toddler Credential• Silver Circle of Quality ‐ 30% at ITC Level 2• Gold Circle of Quality ‐ 40% at ITC Level 3

Model 1 – Infant Toddler Teacher Cohorts

• Target recruitment of IT teachers  with associate or bachelor’s degree

• Offered college coursework tied toattainment of ITC

• Face‐to‐face, online, and hybrid models

Model 1 Lessons Learned:• Effective and expensive model• Unanticipated challenge: participants owed money to the schools

• Cost of textbook was out of reach for some• Condensed model (6‐8 week) preferred• Liability issues for proposed model to bring faculty on‐site to program

• Schedules of public transportation

Infant Toddler Teacher Quality Initiative – Take 2

• Provide Trainings to broader audience of IT Teachers that move toward IT Credential attainment

• Follow‐up with college courses offered toparticipants that complete training cluster and express interest

Model 2

ITTQI Design – Training Clusters• Partnership with Chicago DFSS

• 3 full days of training• Health and Safety• Child Development• Building Relationships

• Knowledge to practice component after each training

• 1.5 points toward credential (50% of required points at Level 2)

600+ participants in 

5 clusters

Individualized Profiles / Reports

Credentials Counselor On‐

Site

Tools for Site Directors

Webinar to Support Director Knowledge of Credentials

Additional Supports Provided

Lessons Learned:• Logistic challenges with venue cost – availability and accessibility to participants

• In‐depth trainings provided were a cost‐effective way to move participants toward an ITC

• Participant‐specific “reports” sparked interest• Involvement of a Credentials Counselor on‐site at trainings was greatly valued

• Inclusion of supervisors in trainings with staff beneficial – great conversation

• Additional outreach strategies – need and results

Outcomes – Fall 2015 Training Clusters• 457 participants in three clusters• ECE Credential:

• 41% have attained an ECE Credential• 54 “brand new”; 5 “level advance”

• Another 29 have a pending application• On track for nearly 50% to have ECE Credential

• Infant Toddler Credential• 25% have attained an Infant Toddler Credential

• 58 brand new; 4 level advance• Additional 44 have a pending application• Just over one‐third will have the ITC

More About ZERO TO THREE

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For close to 40 years, ZERO TO THREE’s mission has been to transform the science of early childhood development into practical resources and responsive policies for millions of parents, professionals and policymakers.  

Strengthening Practice-Based Qualification Requirements

• Critical Competencies for                                  Infant‐Toddler Educators 

• Reflective Supervision and Relationship‐Based Practice

• Leadership Self‐Assessment Tool

• Early Educator Central

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Professional Development 

Federally Funded Work

Practical Tools

Supporting Consistent Quality and Coherence of Professional Learning Supports

Last Year:  FY 15

• Trained over 17,000 professionals

• Developed over 130 resources 

Strengthening Collaboration and Communication 

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Cross‐Sector Core Competencies for the Prenatal to Age Five

Strengthening Policies 

• Professional Development Policy Brief

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• State Policy Tracker Resource 

• Supporting Babies Through QRIS 

• PD system TA

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Hot TopicsSharing Issues & Strategies

Hot Seat: Issues & Suggestions

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• Hot Topic: Briefly describe a specific issue or concern • Group Rapid‐Fire Responses: Ideas of resources and strategies to help address the issue or concern

Photos: © Andrea Booher

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Thank you!

Sarah LeMoine • slemoine@zerotothree.orgJodi Whiteman • jwhiteman@zerotothree.org

Beth Knight • BKnight@inccrra.orgJoni Scritchlow • JScritchlow@inccrra.org

Michelle Zitsch • miczit@berksiu.org