This document discusses workforce development strategies for the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. It outlines plans to [1] define clear professional standards aligned across the agency based on best practices; [2] develop foundational core knowledge trainings and an authentic career pathway for early educators; and [3] invest in an integrated information technology system including a learning management system and professional registry. The overall goal is to better support the state's early education workforce.

1. MA Department of Early
Education and Care (EEC)
Workforce Alignment
EarlyEdU
June 2017

2. • EEC Strategic Plan outlines the expectation that its workforce will be
professionally prepared with requirements based on best practices and
current research.
• Highly trained teachers are associated with positive child outcomes
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EEC Workforce Considerations

3. Workforce Data gathered by UMDI from the Integrated Public
Use Microdata Series (from IPUMS*)
• 28% of center-based participants have a Bachelor’s Degree
• 14% of FCC participants have a Bachelor’s Degree
• 17% of center-based participants have an Associate’s Degree
• 11% of FCC participants have an Associate’s Degree
• 18% of FCC participants are attending school
• 26% of center-based participants are attending school
Note: This is MA specific data
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EEC Workforce

4. IPUMS Data – Educator Attributes
• FCC: 23% Hispanic , Center-based 13%
• FCC: 23% have limited English, center-based 7%
• FCC: 12% are “linguistically isolated”, center-based 3%
• FCC: 33% work more than 40 hours/week, Center-based 10%
Note: This is MA specific data
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EEC Workforce

5. 5
What is needed? Clearly defined professional standards that are aligned
across the agency and include supports and resources from EEC and the
Education Secretariat.
Integrated Workforce

6. 6
• Honor where the workforce is currently (especially in terms of education and
income) and work toward increases that are reasonable to expect without
destabilizing the field;
• Meet the needs of a diverse workforce to access education, support retention
and leadership development;
• System should be research or evidence based and, when possible, associated
with positive child outcomes.
• System should be accessible, useful, and understandable to the full spectrum
of ECE workers in all program types.
Guiding Principles

7. • Aligning core requirements, competencies, and professional development
• Developing and enhancing EEC’s foundational core knowledge trainings for
all educators;
• Developing an authentic career pathway for the entire early education and
out-of-school time workforce that will be the basis of future credentialing;
• Investing in a comprehensive information technology workforce
development system that is inclusive of a dedicated online Learning
Management System (LMS) with integrated professional
registry/certification and QRIS systems.
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Strategies

8. • Core requirements
– Licensing Standards
– QRIS Standards
– Categories of Study Core Content
• Competencies
– Educator Competencies
– Administrator Competencies
– Coaching Competencies
– Trainer Competencies
• Professional development
– PD Delivery System – Program Focused Approach
– Coaching
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Strategy: Alignment

9. North Shore Community College is in the process of:
• Developing pre-service health and safety trainings and materials
• Redesigning EEC’s pre-licensee process and required orientations for all
EEC-licensed educators and providers (programs)
• Developing content for ongoing foundational core knowledge
Note: Training and materials will be available in
multiple languages
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Strategy: Foundational Knowledge

10. Developing an authentic career pathway for the entire early education and
out-of-school time workforce that will be the basis of future credentialing,
inclusive of:
• Articulation agreement for public Institutes of Higher Education with early
childhood programs of study (4 core courses)
• Early Educator Scholarship
• PIF (performance incentive funding) planning grant to develop Competency
Based Education pathway in ECE at community colleges
• Crosswalk of EarlyEdU courses with EEC Categories of Study
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Strategy: Career Pathway

11. 11

12. Investing in a comprehensive information technology workforce development
system that is inclusive of:
• A Learning Management System (LMS)
• Integrated professional registry/certification
• QRIS Program Manager
• Video-based coaching and educator video portfolio system – Potentially
EEU’s Coaching Companion!
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Strategy: Integrated IT

13. • Complete development of foundational knowledge
• Complete the Career Lattices
• Align and update EEC licensing regulations
– Align content with workforce policies
– Integrate lattice will form the basis for EEC’s new credentialing system
• Update QRIS requirements
• Procure and configure Integrated IT Workforce System
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Next Steps