Early Childhood Educator Certificate Program Toolkit

This toolkit introduces a new talent model for early childhood educators and provides an in-depth roadmap for practitioners and intermediaries to develop and launch a similar model. Early learning and care are vital to the health, well-being, and success of children, families, and communities; yet, the early childhood workforce has faced long-standing challenges that impact the availability and quality of early learning care in every state. The talent model outlined in this toolkit is based on the Early Childhood Educator Certificate Program, co-developed by Early Learning Indiana (ELI) and Butler University (Butler), with support from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation (Fairbanks Foundation) and Ascend Indiana (Ascend). The model is an innovative early childhood teacher development program that combines online learning and job-embedded experiences, provides professional development and wraparound services, and culminates in a stackable credential, preparing up to 90 highly-qualified and work-ready early childhood teachers equipped to lead early childhood classrooms and continue their careers in the field.