T.E.A.C.H. Texas
T.E.A.C.H. is a research based comprehensive strategy to educate and retain early childhood practitioners, positively impacting outcomes for the children in their care. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Program began in 1990 in North Carolina as a small pilot program providing a single comprehensive scholarship model to 21 early childhood teachers and has grown to providing scholarships in 23 states across the country. T.E.A.C.H.is a proven effective strategy through its use of four key elements: Scholarships, Education, Compensation and Commitment.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® TEXAS provides scholarships for those working in licensed child care centers and registered or licensed family child care homes in Texas. The goals of T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® are:
- To provide educational scholarship opportunities for people working in regulated child care centers and family child care homes;
- To increase the knowledge base of early childhood professionals working with young children‚ thus improving the care these children receive;
- To encourage child care programs to support the continuing education of their staff;
- To provide increased compensation that is directly related to increased education;
- To reduce staff turnover by supporting the above goals while also requiring from participants a specified time commitment to their sponsoring program after their scholarship year;
- To provide a sequential professional development path for teachers and family child care home providers currently in the field;
- To create a model of partnership for improving the quality of care that children in child care programs receive.