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Early Years Introduces Associate Degree Scholarships for Early Childhood Apprentices
Chapel Hill, N.C., September 30, 2022: Early Years ’s TEACH Early Childhood® North Carolina Program (TEACH NC) announces its newest scholarship opportunity, the Associate Degree Scholarship for Early Childhood Apprentices. This scholarship was developed with the guidance and support of NC’s Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) to uniquely support the educational and experiential needs of apprentices statewide working in licensed programs that are participating in a Department of Labor registered apprenticeship program.
The TEACH NC Scholarship Program provides educational scholarships to early care and education professionals and those who perform specialized functions in the early care and learning system to allow them to earn degrees debt-free. This new Associate Degree Scholarship option for Early Childhood Apprentices is available to apprentices working at least 30 hours per week in a North Carolina licensed child care facility. The scholarship requires apprentices to be either actively enrolled in credit-bearing coursework at the associate degree level or intend to enroll in community college courses in early childhood education to remain eligible.
Sponsoring employment programs will not incur costs associated with the apprentice’s educational expenses and in turn, will receive generous scholarship support for the apprentice’s paid release time. Registered early childhood apprenticeship programs have emerged as a promising workforce strategy to strengthen the pipeline of early childhood educators in North Carolina. The state’s early education workforce was at crisis level before the COVID-19 pandemic. That crisis has only worsened since 2020 as the workforce fled the field in need of improved compensation and benefits. This is a key strategy to address this issue.
TEACH NC Associate Degree Scholarships for Early Childhood Apprentices are available immediately to early childhood apprentices who take courses at any of North Carolina’s community colleges that offer an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. Prospective early childhood apprentices will partner with an employing center and TEACH Early Childhood® North Carolina. For more information on how to apply, visit the T.E.A.C.H webpage or contact a scholarship counselor at (919) 967-3272.
Early Years
Founded in 1974, the mission of Early Years is to lead efforts to strengthen accessible and affordable quality early care and education by providing supports for families, communities and the workforce. To that end, Early Years provides free child care referral services to families, financial assistance to low-income families seeking child care and professional development and technical assistance to child care programs. Through spoonFULL, Early Years also provides nutritious meals to children at child care centers, where they may eat 50-100 percent of their meals. Throughout North Carolina, educational scholarships from Early Years’ TEACH Early Childhood® Scholarship Program give child care professionals the means to obtain a debt-free education, while Early Years’ Child Care WAGE$® and Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$ Plus® programs supplement their meager salary. Early Years also licenses TEACH and WAGE$ across the U.S. through the TEACH Early Childhood® National Center at Early Years and conducts early childhood systems and homelessness research and policy development statewide and nationally. For more information, visit childcareservices.org.
