Workforce & Professional Development
The Early Childhood Workforce and
Professional Development Subcommittee is committed to providing
support to the early childhood workforce in Texas through improved
professional development and career planning. The goal of the
Subcommittee is to develop recommendations regarding statewide
professional development and career advancement plans for
professionals, assess the capacity and effectiveness of 2 and
4-year higher education institutions to meet the needs of the early
childhood field, and support professional development, recruitment,
and retention. The Subcommittee will complete three projects
over the course of the Council's three-year grant, as well as
several critical deliverables, to improve the professional
development and career advancement opportunities for early
childhood professionals and improve school readiness in Texas.
Each of the Council's Subcommittees will complete projects that
fulfill requirements from the Council's authorizing
legislation. For more information on the Improving Head
Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, click
here. The Collaborations and Standards Subcommittee will
fulfill two of these mandates:
- Develop recommendations regarding statewide professional
development and career advancement plans for early childhood
educators in Texas
- Assess the capacity and effectiveness of 2- and 4-year public
and private institutions of higher education in Texas toward
supporting the development of early childhood educators, including
the extent to which such institutions have in place articulation
agreements, professional development and career advancement plans,
and practice or internships for students to spend time in a Head
Start or prekindergarten program
Initiatives
Texas Early
Childhood Professional Development System
The Subcommittee is developing a new professional development
system for early childhood professionals in Texas. Building
on the current Texas Early Care and Education Career Development
System, the new Texas Early Childhood Professional Development
System (TECPDS) will integrate new core competencies, a new career
ladder, and a workforce registry to support career development for
early childhood professionals.
Core Competencies
The Council is developing new core competencies for early
childhood professionals in Texas. The new core competencies
will be available for practitioners, administrators, trainers, and
mentors/coaches. The core competencies will be divided into
introductory, intermediate, and advanced competencies, and
organized into several categories of key skills and knowledge that
ensure successful early childhood professionals who work with
children. The core competencies are currently in
development. Learn more about the new Administrator
and Practitioner Core Competencies.
The Council will also fund the development of training modules
for early childhood professionals on the new Core
Competencies. The training modules will showcase the value of
the Core Competencies and their proper use among early care and
education professionals.
Career Lattice
The new TECPDS will also include a
career lattice, also known as a career ladder or career
pathway. Early childhood professionals will be able to relate
their training hours, education, work experience, and other factors
to a position on the career lattice, from entry-level to expertise
in the early childhood field. Additionally, professionals can
advance levels on the career lattice by gaining more professional
experience, or obtaining additional education credentials, such as
a CDA, bachelor's degree, or beyond. The career lattice is
currently in development.
Compensation Study
The Subcommittee will conduct a compensation study of early
childhood professionals in Texas. The compensation study will
be statewide and cross-sector, collecting compensation information
on early childhood professionals in different programs. This
compensation study will be used to create a voluntary salary range
for early childhood professionals in Texas. Learn more about
the compensation study.
Higher
Education Capacity and Effectiveness Survey
The Council will release an Request for
Proposals (RFP) for a consultant to conduct an assessment of the
capacity and effectiveness of higher education's ability to meet
the needs of the Texas early childhood workforce. The assessment
will include research of best practices, surveys, and focus
groups. The completion of this project will be accompanied by
a report with recommendations for improvements.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood ® TEXAS
Project Scholarships
The Council will provide funding to the Texas Association for
the Education of Young Children (Texas AEYC) to award
T.E.A.C.H.® scholarships to child care workers to pursue
higher education and stipends to their employers. Learn more
about the T.E.A.C.H.® program on the Texas AEYC
website.
Higher
Education Articulation Agreements Toolkit
The Subcommittee will also research articulation agreements
between the community and higher education institutions. This
initiative will examine the effectiveness of agreements between
two-year (community colleges) and four-year (universities)
institutions of higher education to ensure the transfer of credit
hours and the effectiveness of training programs. The Council
will use this information to produce a toolkit to aid communities
and higher education to alter their programs to be more effective
for early childhood professionals. Information collected will
be organized into a report and an articulation agreement manual for
communities and higher education institutions. This research
and the toolkit will be available on the TECPDS website with other
workforce resources.
Subcommittee Members
Subcommittee Chair:
Ana De Hoyos O'Connor, San Antonio College
Michele Adams, Texas
Department of Family and Protective Services
LaShonda Y. Brown, Texas Head Start State
Collaboration Office
Elsa Cardenas-Hagan, University of Houston
Deborah Cody, Mount Pleasant Independent School
District
Blanca Enriquez, Education Service Center - Region
19
John W. Gasko, Children's Learning Institute
Rhonda Paver, Stepping Stone School
Elaine Shiver, Mental Health America of Texas
Kim Wedel, Texas Department of Assistive and
Rehabilitative Services