Each Child. Every Community.

Child care is an essential service for North Carolina families, ensuring parents can work while their young children learn and grow. However, the child care industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic. The reality of low pay for child care professionals, fewer teachers, and increased costs for child care providers have placed immense pressure on the child care industry. Teachers are also experiencing burnout and inadequate training and resources.

Smart Start’s local partnerships are continuing to find new, innovative ways to support the early childhood workforce and to ensure more children are able to receive high-quality, child care.

In Buncombe County, between 2008 and 2018, there was a decrease of 175 employees working in licensed facilities— and the pandemic has only worsened this trend. Currently, only about one third of age-eligible children in Buncombe are enrolled in licensed programs. To address this critical issue, the Buncombe County Partnership for Children developed the Pathway for Early Childhood Teacher Workforce Development Program. The program supports those who are new to or interested in joining the field of Early Childhood Education. The program includes paid training, an opportunity to work as a substitute teacher to gain experience, educational assistance, and certification as a licensed Early Childhood Educator.

This program was built out of results from a study completed by The Asheville Buncombe Preschool Planning Collaborative. The collaborative aims to ensure that every child age birth to five in Asheville and Buncombe County has access to high quality, affordable early care and education. Experts from the collaborative found that Buncombe County is experiencing high demand for child care, a lack of available child care slots, and a workforce shortage. There were also recruitment, retention, and professional development challenges.

The Workforce Development Program addresses these issues by instilling confidence in potential teachers and providing a detailed “pathway” for participants to follow. The various levels of the pathway include: (1) Pre-service/Apprenticeship, (2) Entry-Level/Substitute Teacher, (3) NC Childhood Credential, (4) AA 2-year degree in early childhood, (5) Birth to Kindergarten 4-year degree, and (6) Licensure.

A key component of the program is the Substitute Teacher Program, which places participants into classrooms to serve as teachers while receiving on-the-ground training and experience in a variety of classroom settings. The ultimate goal is for all participants to be hired full-time.

To learn more about the Early Childhood Teacher Workforce Development program, visit Buncombe Partnership for Children’s website. You can also watch this video on the program to learn more.
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