MISSION CRITICAL: Explicit Competencies and Professional Development for Infant-Toddler Educators
2016 QRIS National MeetingJuly 13, 2016New Orleans, LA
1
2
WELCOME
Introductions & Session Overview
Mission Critical
•Critical Needs & Risks •Critical Opportunities•Critical Competencies•Critical Efforts
3Copyright © 2015 ZERO TO THREE. All rights reserved.
4
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
5
Photos (left to rig
ht): © iStock
© Steven De
rn, ©
Sarah
LeM
oine
Critical Needs & Risks
6Photo: © ZERO TO THREE
7
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”
9
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
10
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
21
Critical Needs & Opportunities
22
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
23
• 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
24
• 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
25
POWER TO THE PROFESSION
NAEYC Announces a New National Collaboration to Set Professional Guidelines for All Early Childhood Educators
National Opportunities
26
ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant‐Toddler Educators™
National Consensus Focus
Source: IOM & NRC, 2015
Critical Needs & Opportunities
27
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
29
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
30
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
32
State Example: Overview Alignment with Illinois Content Areas
33
Critical Competencies
34
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
52
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
53
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
55
Cross‐Sector Core Competencies for the Prenatal to Age Five
Strengthening Policies
• Professional Development Policy Brief
56
• State Policy Tracker Resource
• Supporting Babies Through QRIS
• PD system TA
57
Hot TopicsSharing Issues & Strategies
Hot Seat: Issues & Suggestions
58
• 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
59
Thank you!
Sarah LeMoine • [email protected] Whiteman • [email protected]
Beth Knight • [email protected] Scritchlow • [email protected]
Michelle Zitsch • [email protected]