The
Need for Professional Childcare Staff Development
in Camden
-
A large percentage of childcare professionals
in Camden have only a high school diploma.
-
Research on early education and care consistently
verifies a direct correlation between the quality
of children’s early learning experiences
and the level of education and training of childcare
providers.
-
The majority of professional development training
for childcare staff takes place well outside of
Camden.
The
Goals of the Childcare Literacy Training Program,
Phase II: CDA
-
To broaden the focus from early literacy training
to providing a professional pathway for staff
to gain their Child Development Associate (CDA)
certification.
-
To enhance the impact of the training seminars
by increasing the number of childcare providers
participating in the program.
-
To provide guidance to CDA participants for
direct application of educational strategies
learned during the CDA classes to their own
classrooms through the mentoring program component.
-
To support CDA candidates in completion of the
CDA requirements through on-going technical
assistance.
-
To strengthen childcare center directors’
skills in supporting their staff’s professional
development through the Directors’ Academy
and the Directors’ Retreats.
-
To enhance the educational partnerships between
parents and the childcare centers.
The
Childcare Literacy Training Program, Phase II: CDA
consists of the following components:
- Enhanced
Training for Childcare Professionals
-
The CDA Professional Pathways Program focuses
on providing childcare staff with the 120
hours of training and assessment needed to
obtain CDA certification. To facilitate completion
of the CDA within one year, weekly classes
are being offered for a 34-week period from
September to May. The training program is
in compliance with all national CDA credentialing
standards and trainers, mentors, and technical
advisors will meet the New Jersey Professional
Development Center (NJPDC) State Certification.
-
Through the Mentoring component of the Professional
Pathways Program childcare staff are provided
with guidance in applying knowledge gained
during the weekly CDA classes into their own
classrooms. All CDA participants are assigned
to a mentor who provides them with two hours
of mentoring per week.
-
The Technical Assistance component of the
Professional Pathways Program responds to
the identified need for on-going support of
training participants to insure completion
of the CDA.
-
Supporting Childcare Directors: RU-CCCS will
host a Directors’ Academy in Camden
(projected start date, September 2004). The
CLTI Directors’ Retreat provides a forum
for networking, problem solving, and idea
sharing, and provides childcare center directors’
input into RU-CCCS planning.
Previous retreats have included: the Brandywine
River Museum, Chester County Historical Society,
and the Academy of Natural Sciences.
-
The Families as Educational Partners program provides
monthly seminars for parents and will address
topics chosen by directors as instrumental to
children’s development and germane to the
key educational principles implemented by staff
as part of CDA training.
Project Impact
-
In September of 2003, 227 childcare professionals
from 51 Camden city childcare centers enrolled
in our Childcare Literacy Training Initiative
CDA Program.
-
By the end of August 2004, the participants will
have obtained the 120 hours necessary for the
CDA credential, as well as the mentoring and technical
assistance to complete the assessment phase of
the National CDA certification. The enhanced educational
preparation of these childcare aides and assistant
teachers will have a direct impact on the quality
of early education in Camden.
-
Our goal is to have the remaining childcare professionals
with only a high school diploma or GED enroll
in the September 2004 class. This will result
in raising the educational level of all childcare
center staff and produce a significant impact
on the quality of early care and education in
Camden.
-
Camden childcare directors will have strengthened
their skills and ability to support staff and
to address staff professional development needs.
And, the educational partnership between families
and childcare centers will be enhanced through
the seminars offered to families.
Download a schedule for the 2004-2005 Childcare
Professional Enhancement Training for Pre-K
CDA and the Infant
and Toddler CDA Programs (in PDF
Format)
Rutgers
CDA Program Policy Manual for Candidates
Rutgers CDA Program Policy
Manual for Childcare Directors
|
