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Home > Good Beginnings' Work> HCYC> Professional Development> T.E.A.C.H.> Associate Model T.E.A.C.H. - Associate Degree Model
This year the Department of Human Services, a major funding source for T.E.A.C.H., decided not to issue a Request for Porposal (RFP) for scholarships to support Early Childhood Education Degrees. Therefore, no new T.E.A.C.H. scholarship contracts are being issued. The Hawaii Roundtable's support via the Hawaii Early Education Fund and a grant from theJeanette and Harry Weinberg Foundation will enable the fulfillment of all current contracts through the end of Spring 2006. Good Beginnings Alliance continues to work towards identifying dedicated resources to support degree foucsed scholarships for early childhood professionals. T.E.A.C.H. (Teacher Education and Compensation Helps) Early Childhood® HAWAII is a statewide scholarship program for early childhood practitioners earning an Associate Degree in Early Childhood or taking early childhood courses at a participating Community College.
Who can participate? While the program is called, "An Associate Degree Scholarship Program for Early Childhood Teachers," any teacher, assistant and/or aide or family child care provider who is employed in a licensed child care center or a licensed family child care home is eligible to apply. Any center that is licensed through the DHS may sponsor an employee on the program.Are centers obligated to support an employee until he/she earns his/her Associate Degree? While a center may choose to support an employee until they complete their Associate Degree, it is not a requirement. T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII realizes that a center may not be able to financially support their employee on multiple contracts.What makes T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII so unique? The T.E.A.CH. program is different because it creates a partnership to share expenses and links professional development and training to quality care for young children, retention in the field, and compensation. This is done through four components: Scholarship, Education, Compensation, and Commitment.Scholarship: T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII is a unique scholarship program because it is a three way partnership between T.E.A.C.H., the recipient and their employing center. The partners each pay a portion of the cost for tuition and books. T.E.A.C.H. pays for the majority (80%), and the recipient and center split the remaining balance. T.E.A.C.H. also provides a travel stipend and reimburses the center for a majority of the cost of paid release time given to full time employees (30 or more hours per week). Paid release time allows the student to study, do research and go to school. Education: The recipient is required to complete 9-15 credits within 12 months. Since recipients are working professionals this can be done by taking a 3 credit class each semester (Fall, Spring and Summer) to meet his/her minimum of 9 credits. Compensation: At the end of one year, if the recipient has completed 9-15 credits, he/she receives a bonus from T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII, and either a 2% raise or $400 bonus from their center. Commitment: To say "mahalo" to the employing center for the support of their education and professional development, the recipient agrees to stay with their center for an additional year. This provides the recipient with time to practice the use the knowledge and skills gained through his/her education. Above all it provides them with an opportunity to provide consistent, quality care to the young children in their employing center.to the top How much money does a center spend on their employee? When broken down, a DHS licensed center could sponsor and aide, assistant or teacher on a T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII scholarship for as little as $50 a month. This amount covers the center's 10% share of tuition and books, paid release time and the center's 2% raise or bonus for an employee who is earning $9 an hour and taking 3 credits each semester to complete the minimum required 9 credits during the 12 month contract. Please keep in mind that this is an estimate and is subject to change. For more information, please contact the T.E.A.C.H. office at 531-5502 or toll free at 1-866-531-5502.What if I don't want to earn an Associate Degree, may I still be eligible for a scholarship? The program also realizes that it may not be the recipient's professional goal to earn an Associate degree- he/she may be trying to complete the 120 clock hours needed to become a Child Development Associate, earn enough credits to meet the licensing requirements for his/her position, earn enough credits to move up a level on the Hawaii Careers with Young Children Registry.What if I want to earn an Associate Degree and my center is unable to support me in T.E.A.C.H. what can I do? Recipients and other early childhood professionals may contact the Financial Aide Offices at the following Community College Campuses:
Early childhood professionals are also encouraged to fill out a FAFSA form as they may qualify for PELL Grants, grants offered through the State, and student loans. For a FAFSA application they may contact the Financial Aide Offices mentioned above, or visit www.fafsa.ed.gov. The Hawaii Community Foundation administers various scholarships for full time students. The following websites conduct a scholarship search or have scholarship databases: www.collegeboard.com - Scholarship search engine. www.fastweb.com. - Free national searchable scholarship database. www.hawaii.edu/cash - Free searchable scholarship database based at UH. www.college-scholarships.com - Links to 10 different free scholarship search engines. www.collegeconnections.org - Individual academic advising, tutoring and financial aid workshops. www.hawaii.collegeanswer.com - Provides free scholarship searches and information on financial aid. to the topWho benefits from T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII? T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII benefits, not only the scholarship recipient, but the center and its other employees as well. Since the program is only responsible for paying a small share of the books and tuition (10%), the center is able to stretch its existing professional development funds to benefit more staff members.By directly linking education, compensation and commitment to the early childhood field T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII has helped reduce turnover and improve the quality care young children receive in over 20 centers since the program began in 2001. Center directors have found this to be the most rewarding part of T.E.A.C.H. because they have been able to provide consistent quality care to young children. For more information on the Associate Degree Scholarship Model, please contact the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® HAWAII at (808) 531-5502 or toll free at 1-866-531-5502. to the top |
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