AACTE understands the critical need for quality teachers at the early childhood level. The Association is committed to work to enhance the professional quality of early childhood education teacher preparation programs, and to ensure the continued professional development of early childhood teachers.

AACTE's policy paper "The Early Childhood Challenge: Preparing High Quality Teachers for a Changing Society" calls for major changes in how preschool educators are prepared to teach. It also recommends that all preschool teachers have bachelor's degrees in early childhood education.

Model Teacher Preparation Initiative

Supported by a grant form Lumina Foundation, AACTE seeks to develop a model program to ensure community college students in the field of early childhood education (ECE) successfully transition to four-year institutions. Through this program, AACTE will work in collaboration with several of its member institutions to develop and assess articulation agreements that strengthen relationships between community colleges and four-year colleges of education in the preparation of early childhood teachers. The goal of this program is to increase the number of highly qualified ECE teachers from diverse backgrounds. AACTE/Lumina Grant Recipients Announced

New Report Analyzes Governors' Support for Early Childhood Education

As part of the recommendations included in the 2004 paper "The Early Childhood Challenge" the AACTE Focus Council on Early Childhood Education stressed the need for increased public and private investment in order to facilitate access and improve quality of programs for young children. AACTE joins Pre [K] Now and the early childhood education community in praising these governors' efforts to provide high quality pre-kindergarten education to all children who need it. The report "Leadership Matters: Governors' Pre-K Proposals Fiscal Year 2006" can be found at http://www.preknow.org/documents/LeadershipReport.pdf. For more information on Pre [K] Now, please visit http://www.preknow.org.

Staff Contact: Alicia Ardila-Rey

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