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College Opportunity Networks and Technology Access for Childcare Teachers

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Overview
Project CONTACT (College Opportunity Networks & Technology Access for Child Care Teachers) is a pilot research and training project designed to develop a model system of delivery and support for early childhood college courses offered on the Internet. This distance learning effort will afford child care teachers with an opportunity to earn college credits from work, home, a college campus or a community base. CONTACT also seeks to build the capacity of the community college system to offer early childhood education to their students at a distance.


Why?
Providing quality child care experiences hinges on a strong network of qualified professionals working within a supportive educational and economic environment. A critical component of quality child care is quality teaching. Quality teaching depends on a strong foundation provided by excellent personnel preparation and appropriate wage based compensations. In North Carolina 50% of child care program directors and 75% of child care teachers have no degree past high school.


Pursuing Quality Child Care
Research has shown that teacher education is one of the keys to quality child care. North Carolina is leading the effort nationwide to increase the level of child care teacher education by building an integrated system of early childhood professional development. The state has connected college scholarships and wage incentives to teacher education, set benchmarks for teacher education levels, implemented a tiered licensing system that encourages teacher education, and provided enhancements through Smart Start with performance based incentives for higher teacher education levels. Child care teachers need field specific education now more than ever before in North Carolina's history. Distance learning can provide access to quality college courses for child care teachers seeking a college education.


Barriers to College Education
Child care teachers face many challenges to college education. In order to provide truly accessible education opportunities, the challenges child care teachers face when attempting to access education must be addressed. Barriers to education for this population include:

• lack of program funds for paid release time and substitute caregivers during work hours,
• time constraints of child care providers--any of whom have dependents--making after hours personnel preparation difficult,
• lack of personal access to computers to receive on-line courses and technical support,
• low wages with little incentive to pursue additional educational experiences,
• lack of knowledge about computer and Internet use.

Partners The NC Community College System, Division of Child Development and NC Partnership for Children, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, McDowell Technical Community College, Forsyth Technical Community College - Stokes Campus, College of the Albemarle - Chowan County Center, Buncombe, McDowell, Stokes and Chowan/Gates/Perquimans Smart Start Partnerships and a host of state and local agencies are working in partnership with FPG to develop this model.
For more information about this project please contact Debra Torrence, Ed.M., Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, (919) 962-5777 or torrence@mail.fpg.unc.edu or write:	Debra Torrence Campus Box 8040 The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8040