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This program is raising wages, quality in the child care workforce. Here's how it works

Fort Worth Star-Telegram - 10/11/2021

Oct. 11—FORT WORTH — June Robles did not see a future as an early educator when she started as an assistant teacher at a Fort Worth child care center just over a year ago.

She had just left the retail industry, and had plans to go to culinary school to become a baker.

But shortly after starting, she joined the Camp Fire First Texas Early Educator Apprenticeship program — the first of its kind in the state of Texas.

"When I first started, I didn't see myself going far with it," Robles said. "Now that I've been doing it for a year, I don't want to stop."

The apprenticeship program graduated its first class Sept. 29 — and experts believe the program is already increasing the quality of child care for children and child care workers in Tarrant County.

In her first year on the job Robles has received two promotions, and raises, and now serves as the assistant director of Good Shepherd Christian Academy in Fort Worth.

Robles' story is a rare bright spot in an industry with chronically low salaries, especially for women of color.

A trifecta of low wages, high turnover and lack of access to education have historically contributed to widespread lack of quality early childhood education across the state, especially in high-needs areas, according to Children at Risk, an advocacy organization. High quality early education has also been tied to academic success later in life, making it critical for communities that are already at a disadvantage.

The coronavirus pandemic compounded these issues, driving many early educators to leave the industry, resulting in what some advocates are calling a crisis that could threaten a full economic recovery.

Without staff, providers are left with fewer seats for parents who were already having difficulties finding adequate childcare before the pandemic.

In Tarrant County, where only 21% of licensed child care providers are part of a quality rating and improvement system, the apprenticeship program facilitated by Camp Fire First is working to counteract those trends and increase both the quality of education for children and the income for early educators.

"It is no secret that early education has really struggled over the course of many years," said Lyn Lucas, the senior vice president of Early Education and Program Evaluation for Camp Fire First. "Apprenticeships have long been the answer to industry shortages in all kinds of industries, and right now we know that we have a serious shortage of quality early education teachers."

Overcoming barriers

Camp Fire First has worked for over a decade on developing a mentorship and progress monitoring program to ensure school readiness for students across Tarrant County.

The apprenticeship program builds on that momentum and works to provide more value and opportunities for early educators who participate.

Through surveying the educators they already work with, Camp Fire First members found that many long-time early educators had tried to pursue training and certifications in their careers, but have faced obstacles including cost, transportation and child care hindering their efforts.

"One thing the apprenticeship program does is take away some of those barriers," Lucas said. "This program is available at no cost to the apprentices, and values the experience they have and helps close the opportunity gap."

Avonne Campbell, who is currently in the apprenticeship program, strived to further her education for years.

"I used to go home crying because I definitely wanted to further my education ... but I don't know how," she said. "Without (the apprenticeship) I would be lost, because this is something I've been wanting to do for years."

In the time she has been in the program, Campbell has learned methods of teaching kids how to sound out words, and how to scaffold learning concepts to keep children at all levels moving forward.

Through the apprenticeship, Campbell plans to continue her education.

Mechell Green, who oversees early childhood programs for the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth, said barriers keeping early educators from receiving accreditation and higher education have persisted for years.

"People don't have an extra $100 to get a CDA, much less to try to get an associates or a Bachelor's," she said.

Long-time early educators like Maria Sanchez, who completed the program, said the program helped them make sense of lessons they've learned over the years on the job.

"I got a lot of a-ha moments," Sanchez said. "Because being in the business, you're being told all these things, but actually going through and learning it made more sense to me."

In addition to providing access to receive college credit at Tarrant County College and Tarleton State University, Camp Fire First negotiated salary increases for participants at host locations, although some were unable to follow through with the full amount due to financial impacts of the COVID pandemic.

Dana Brocks, the director of the apprenticeship program, said credentialing, including earning a childcare development associate, is a key draw for participants.

"At the end of the day, a lot of these apprentices know that the higher credentials will equal higher wages," she said.

The apprenticeship can serve as a stand-alone education requirement, enhance existing career opportunities, or for current apprentices like Lacreshia Watson act as a pipeline into college.

"At the end of this I'll have my (Childcare Development Associate)," Watson said. "I've been in childcare for 20 years, and it's like, why don't I have this already?"

Mandi Kimball, director of Public Policy and Government Affairs for the advocacy organization Children At Risk which has advocated for greater professional development in the sector for years, said the path the apprenticeship creates will ultimately benefit children in child care centers and homes.

"What the apprenticeship program does is that it allows for a career pipeline so that we are improving the quality of our teachers, which turns into quality interactions with our children," she said. "It also maximizes curriculum and results in an overall quality education and experience."

National conversation

The completion of the inaugural class of Camp Fire First apprentices comes as national policymakers debate the Build Back Better plan, which is part of a stalled $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that includes significant investments in the early childhood education sector.

Kimball said that regardless of whether that legislation passes, the necessity of a qualified child care workforce has been highlighted over the last two years.

"I think it has become very clear that if we want a strong economy, that we need a strong child care system," she said. "And the only way for parents to be able to go back to work is to ensure that we are investing appropriately into the early childhood education system and that it's sustained."

"It's also ensuring that we're focusing on quality so that those children can be school ready and participate in the workforce in the future."

Desiree Holmes, the director of Apprenticeships for the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), said the program in Fort Worth is setting a precedent that could inform similar programs across the state and country. TWC provides funding and support to apprenticeship programs, with the goal of increasing the qualified workforce in industries across the state.

"If your employees are doing the most effective work they can, you are getting the most bang for your buck," she said. "It adds to your bottom line."

TWC worked with Camp Fire First from the beginning, and helped them form the right partnerships to qualify for recognition by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The agency also provided grants, including a $120,000 Texas Workforce Commission Apprenticeship Texas Expansion grant given to the program and Tarrant Community College.

Future of the program

The apprenticeship program began just as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a blow to the already frail industry.

Classes moved online, mentorship visits were done via iPads set up in classrooms and lessons adjusted to challenges never seen before.

With the success of the virtual program over the last year, Camp Fire First is looking to expand the apprenticeship program outside of Tarrant County, into Collin County and beyond with future apprentice candidates from as far as Frisco, Waxahachie, Glen Rose and even Houston.

"We're talking about a totally different demographic, and a different community," Brocks, the director of the program said. "We are also looking at rural areas, so I think it is catching on."

Camp Fire First also has plans to partner with local school districts, including Fort Worth and Northwest ISD to facilitate a pre-apprenticeship program for high school students interested in entering the early childhood education workforce.

"It's a ramp into the full apprenticeship program, but they would start that in their high school program," Lucas said.

With the success of increasing wages and qualified teachers, Camp Fire First is also exploring expanding the apprenticeship program to include mentoring and coursework for those interested in becoming child care center directors, and for home-based child care providers which make up a large portion of child care across the state.

"This isn't only an economic solution, it is an equity solution, it is a quality solution," Lucas said. "And it is hopeful enough that the whole state of Texas is interested in figuring out how to expand this, and scale it out."

The program, which creates a pool of qualified educators, will become a necessity in the coming years as a law requiring all child care facilities that receive subsidies to participate in the state's quality rating system is phased in.

For those completing the program, the opportunity is a recognition of a need that has gone unnoticed for far too long.

"For early childhood educators, we're kind of put on the back burner, and everybody sees us as glorified babysitters," said Sanchez, who teaches at Little Tyke Learning Center in Crowley. "By going through these programs and actually getting the education ... I was able to help myself, but also help the teachers and help the children."

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