海角大神

Kayla Pinto knew she had found her calling from the first day she taught preschool at the YMCA in Somerville, Mass. Ms. Pinto had grown up attending programs at the Y in this small city just north of Boston, and she started working there when she was 14. But it wasn鈥檛 until her early 20s, when she was asked to fill in for an absent preschool teacher, that she realized how much she connected with young children.

鈥淢y heart sang,鈥� she says, remembering that first day. She soon decided to get certified as an early childhood teacher and make a career in preschool.聽

Now a veteran teacher with 11 years聽of聽experience, Pinto still has a passion for becoming a better teacher. One thing she doesn鈥檛 have is a bachelor鈥檚 degree. That limits the salary she can earn at a community center like the Y and prohibits her from working in the higher-paying public pre-kindergarten sector, where the qualifications required of a preschool teacher are similar to those needed to teach elementary school.

With a growing body of research showing that the early years are a critical window for聽听补苍诲听,聽calls to require a bachelor鈥檚 degree for early childhood educators in both the public and private sectors have increased over the past decade. In 2007, the federal government required that at least 50 percent of Head Start teachers have a bachelor鈥檚 by 2013. (By 2015, had bachelor鈥檚 degrees.)

And in 2015, after a comprehensive review of early childhood research,聽, part of the National Academy of Sciences, recommended that all lead teachers in early childhood settings have a bachelor鈥檚. But many programs are having a hard time finding and hiring teachers who have attained one.

In Massachusetts, Bay State education officials recognize that the profession鈥檚 low pay has put higher education out of reach for many early childhood educators. Would-be teachers are hard-pressed to take out student loans, knowing that their salaries as preschool teachers will probably not cover loan payments along with living expenses. Those who can afford a traditional four-year college pathway often opt for degrees in elementary education, so that they can work in the higher-paying pre-kindergarten classrooms that are increasingly available in public schools. But those programs, which tend to employ the most educated teachers, serve only an estimated聽.

鈥淭his bifurcated system of early childhood education is a problem,鈥� says Winifred M. Hagan, an associate commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and an expert in early childhood teaching. She notes that there are 鈥渄ifferent qualitative requirements for teachers of different kids,鈥� depending on whether the children attend public pre-kindergarten, Head Start, or community-based programs.聽This, she says, could contribute to achievement gaps across racial lines and between low-income children and their peers.

To ensure that all children have access to preschool teachers with deep and practical knowledge, state officials are building multiple pathways to a bachelor鈥檚 degree in early education. One of them is an initiative called聽, which encourages students to earn an associate degree at a community college, then transfer to a bachelor鈥檚 program at a four-year school. The program, which offers a variety of majors, including early childhood education, guarantees that credits earned during an associate degree program will transfer to the bachelor鈥檚.

Thinking differently about degrees

Not so long ago, the associate degree was seen as the end goal for early childhood teachers. Cheryl McNulty, the director of the Somerville Y鈥檚 preschool program, encouraged Pinto and other employees who started around the same time to focus on earning one. 鈥淣ow we know it鈥檚 best practice [to get a bachelor鈥檚],鈥� says Ms. McNulty.聽

Lisa Kuh, who oversees Somerville's public preschool programs, says that increasing the number of preschool teachers with bachelor鈥檚 degrees is also important for professionalizing the field so that it will be viewed on par with careers like nursing and law. That is a goal the early childhood field has been grappling with for decades, she says. 鈥淚f we say it鈥檚 OK for teachers to not know the canon of child development knowledge, our field is going to stay right where it is,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t will continue to be seen as 鈥榡ust care鈥� rather than education.鈥�

After completing an associate degree in 2013, Pinto wanted to learn more to be the best teacher she could be. She is taking advantage of the chance to transfer credits she earned over seven challenging years of night classes at the end of her workdays at the Y. Because community college courses tend to be cheaper than those at four-year institutions, transferring credits saves students money. But for Pinto and many other early childhood educators, the cost savings from MassTransfer are still not enough to put a bachelor鈥檚 degree within reach.

In Massachusetts, ,聽across settings, is just $31,000. Nationally, a preschool teacher with a bachelor鈥檚 working in a community-based program can expect to聽聽as a similarly qualified teacher in a school setting (with salaries for childcare providers of younger children significantly lower). Nationwide,聽.

To help teachers balance living expenses and school, the Massachusetts state legislature in 2005 approved the聽. It covers all or almost all of the cost of tuition for any Massachusetts early educator who is working in the field and obtaining a degree. Once applicants are approved, the state provides funds directly to the college or university so that students, who often live paycheck to paycheck, don鈥檛 have to pay out of pocket and wait to be reimbursed. Pinto is one of 539 students receiving the scholarship this year.

Support for diversity

The goal of these efforts is to increase the qualifications of early childhood educators while maintaining the current diversity of the workforce.聽, especially in communities with high percentages of low-income families and children of color 鈥� in part because of the historically low barriers to entry into the field. Efforts to improve the quantity and quality of preschool teachers must honor and preserve that diversity, experts agree. Removing the financial barriers to higher education is one strategy for doing that.

Another strategy is an approach known as competency-based education. Based on the idea that learning doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean 鈥渟eat time鈥� in courses, this approach awards college credits for knowledge and skills already mastered. Massachusetts is testing out a new, competency-based pathway with a small group of early childhood educators who have already been in the field for many years. Those educators can earn college credits by successfully completing assessments demonstrating their knowledge or by completing online coursework.

While that approach appeals to some educators, others prefer the unique learning opportunities that college affords. Teddy Kokoros, a 34-year-old preschool teacher at Transportation Children鈥檚 Center in Boston, earned his bachelor鈥檚 after spending seven years dividing his time between teaching in the classroom and taking courses part-time, but he doesn鈥檛 regret any of that time. A big part of his education came from what he calls 鈥渋ncidental teaching moments鈥� from faculty and peers between classes and during snack breaks.

Mr. Kokoros says he values the depth of knowledge he gained from taking courses outside his major in early childhood education. He uses what he learned in a course about the history and biology of Boston鈥檚 Charles River when designing science activities for his preschool classroom. And, he says, 鈥渉aving a broad base of knowledge of the world can be important鈥� when teaching a diverse group of children, like those in his center.

Pinto credits the state鈥檚 initiatives with her ability to stay on the path to a bachelor鈥檚 degree. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I would be as far along as I am without the scholarship,鈥� she says. Still, it hasn鈥檛 been an easy road. She had to put her educational plans on hold when a romantic relationship ended and she moved out on her own. To cover her bills, she took a second job, working nights as a grocery cashier, and has had to stop taking evening classes for now. The Boston area is among the most expensive places in the country to live, so even with the scholarship covering her tuition, Pinto鈥檚 preschool teacher salary was simply not high enough to cover her living expenses.

Early childhood experts and officials know that for higher education initiatives to work, they must ultimately be accompanied by efforts to improve teachers鈥� salaries. While officials debate solutions to that issue, Pinto is counting on a salary increase once she finishes her coursework. But, she says she would want to earn the bachelor鈥檚 degree, even if it didn't lead to a pay increase. 鈥淸I]t鈥檚 been such a long road, like a boulder being shoved up a hill,鈥� she says of pursuing diplomas for 10 years. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also something to aspire to.鈥�

This story about 聽was produced by聽, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on聽inequality and innovation in education.聽