Each Child. Every Community.

High quality interactions between children and teachers are the active ingredients through which early childhood programs foster the academic, language, emotional and social competencies of children. Improving teacher-child interactions requires continuing and consistent professional development opportunities.

Mentoring and support to help providers reach higher education goals

Staff education is a major component of the star-rated license in North Carolina and is critical to increasing and maintaining high quality in child care. Smart Start works to encourage and support child care providers in enrolling and successfully completing college courses through professional development activities that may include development of individual and facility based professional development plans, professional development coordinators, tutoring, mentoring, alternative course delivery, supports for on-line courses, and awards for course and degree completion.

Professional Development Supplements

Professional development supplements are designed to provide children more stable relationships with better educated teachers by rewarding teacher education and continuity of care. For example, local Smart Start partnerships are the primary funder of The Child Care WAGE$® Project. The project provides education-based salary supplements to low-paid teachers, directors and family child care providers working with children between the ages of birth to five. Salary supplements are paid every six months as long as participants remain in the child care program. WAGE$® has reduced turnover and encouraged continued education. WAGE$® was created by the Child Care Services Association.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarships

The Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) Early Childhood® Project was designed to address the issues of under-education, poor compensation and high turnover within the early childhood workforce. It provides scholarships to child care workers to complete early childhood course work and to increase their compensation. Scholarships provide support for tuition, books, and a small travel stipend. After completing the educational requirements, participants are eligible to receive increased compensation in the form of a bonus or a raise. T.E.A.C.H. is implemented statewide in North Carolina by the Child Care Services Association.

Training opportunities for child care providers

Smart Start supports training for child care providers to improve the quality of care in the classroom. Trainings may be on assessment tools such as theInfant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS), Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS), Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS), and Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS); implementation of subject matter such as literacy, science, or art; or implementation and use of an approved curriculum. Best practices in training include not only the training, but follow-up with supported practice in the classroom.