SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF AACTE/LUMINA GRANT

AACTE members are working to help community college students in the field of early childhood education successfully transition to 4-year colleges of education.

A 2-year grant to the Association from the Lumina Foundation for Education facilitated the development of model articulation agreements between 4- and 2-year institutions preparing early childhood teachers. The grant concluded this summer.

The University of Delaware and Western Oregon University, demonstration sites for the grant, worked for the last 18 months in the development and implementation of the agreements, which aimed to increase the number of early childhood teachers from diverse backgrounds. Approximately half of all teacher candidates of color begin their preparation at community colleges.

The University of Delaware program, which targeted African American students, is based on an existing institution-wide and statewide articulation model between the University of Delaware and the Delaware Technical and Community College system. The Western Oregon program, focusing on Hispanic students, is a one-to-one articulation agreement between the liberal arts institution and Chemeketa Community College.

At both sites, the development process brought to the table a diverse group of people, including faculty and staff from various institutions as well as representatives from child care centers, Head Start, local high schools, state education agencies, and departments of education.

Penny Deiner, chair of the Department of Individual and Family Studies at the University of Delaware, and Hilda Rosselli, dean of the College of Education at Western Oregon University, managed the demonstration programs. The completed articulation agreements are now being implemented, and students are already participating in the transfer programs. A session is being organized for the 2007 Annual Meeting to share information on the articulation development process.

Additional grant activities included a web conference last year in which various institutions shared their work on articulation agreements. A follow-up web event this fall, cosponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, will focus on program and candidate assessment in the early childhood field.

AACTE is developing additional resources to supplement the grant work. A new web page will contain helpful materials on articulation issues, and a directory will compile information on member institutions with articulation programs.

For more information, contact Alicia Ardila-Rey at aardila-rey@aacte.org.

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