Scholarships offered for early childhood educators

VERMONT - The Curtis Fund, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, announces a bold scholarship program for Vermonters seeking to become early childhood educators. The Curtis Fund Commitment: a Comprehensive Scholarship for Early Childhood Educators is a pilot program that will provide scholarships for the full cost of attendance - tuition, fees, housing, food, and transportation - to students who wish to earn a certificate in child care at the Community College of Vermont.
The US Department of Labor estimates that the median annual wage for a child care worker in Vermont is $29,430. The combined high cost of postsecondary education and low salary is discouraging people from becoming early childhood educators and creating financial hardship for those who do. The Curtis Fund hopes to address this by investing in a certificate program as a more affordable way to prepare early childhood educators. Most importantly, this program will allow students to graduate with the knowledge and skills they need to start their careers debt-free.
Child care certificate graduates must complete a 24-hour credit program and obtain one year of classroom experience to qualify as a teacher associate. According to Let’s Grow Kids, another supporting organization of the community foundation, teacher associates could fill an estimated 1,600 of the 2,090 openings for early childhood educators in Vermont.
The pilot program will be available to students graduating from career and technical education programs focused on early childhood education and/or human services. There are 12 of these programs across the state and they help high school juniors and seniors establish a strong foundation from which to enter the early childhood education field.
The Curtis Fund is partnering with the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children to identify potential candidates. The Curtis Fund and VTAEYC will host a virtual information session on Wednesday, November 16, from noon to 12:30 pm and again from 6:30 to 7 pm. To sign up visit vtaeyc.org/events.
For more information about The Curtis Fund and to learn how to apply contact teachearlychildhoodvermont@vtaeyc.org or call (802) 387-0870.