Vote in the Pepsi Refresh Project to support early childhood teachers
Have you voted?! You can increase funding to provide more college scholarships for early care and school age professionals across the nation! T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® has the opportunity to win $250,000 through the Pepsi Refresh Project.
North Carolina provides two significant supports to early childhood teachers: 1) scholarships to help teachers afford additional education, and 2) salary supplements to help teachers earn a living wage. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project and The Child Care WAGE$® Project are the cornerstones of North Carolina’s early childhood professional development investment.
The 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 (ranging from $100 to $700) or a raise (4% or 5%). According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in 2009 alone, 99,588 of children were impacted by T.E.A.C.H.
The Child Care WAGE$® Project is designed to provide children more stable relationships with better educated teachers by rewarding teacher education and continuity of care. 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 with the child care program. WAGE$® has reduced turnover and encouraged teachers, directors and family child care providers to continue their education. In FY 2009-10, more than 8,193 providers in North Carolina received a supplement.
