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Making the Case for Early Childhood Credentialing in Wisconsin

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

The following has been adapted from “Early Childhood Credentialing in Wisconsin,” an article by Diane Ryberg, family and consumer sciences consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and Diane Klemme, professor and program director for the Family and Consumer Sciences Program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. For the full article, see the April issue of ACTE’s Techniques magazine.

The United States, like many western countries, finds more working parents seeking child care to balance their work and home life. Although, the United States’ birthrate has been on the decline (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017); the number of working parents continues to increase. Working mothers make up 40 percent of the workforce, and 60 percent of children, age 6 and under, have both parents in the workforce (CCAoA, 2018).

Infants in daycare

The lack of quality and affordable child care can impact communities because children may begin school with fewer skills. “Children that participate in high-quality child care have higher scores on achievement and language tests, show better social skills and fewer behavioral problems” (McCartney, 2007, p. 2). In Kids Count Databook (2018), Wisconsin ranks 12th in overall child well-being, but could do better, especially in reading proficiency. Two-thirds of Wisconsin fourth-graders lack reading skills at a critical time at school—as fourth-graders start to learn other subjects. The lack of reading skills puts a child at risk of struggling with academics, and this could lead to dropping out of school thus reducing earning potential and career success.

Early Childhood Education Certificate Programs

in 1992, Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction approved high school family and consumer sciences instructors (with additional supplemental vocational child care licensure) to offer early childhood education courses that allow a person to work as an assistant child care teacher (ACCT) in a regulated, licensed child care center at age 17. Students without the certification are prohibited from working as an ACCT until the age of 18.

Family and Consumer Sciences educators that offer programs are required to have a Family and Consumer Teaching License and a Child Care Services Vocational License. The latter license requires 2,000 hours of family and consumer-related work experiences, and 1,000 of those hours must be in a child care services area. This related work experience must be in the child care industry that the students will eventually enter. In addition, FCS educators are required to attend an annual in-service in the fall to assist instructors with registration of students, and ongoing professional development. Currently, family and consumer sciences high school students have several options including:

Conclusion

Demand for quality child care workers has never been higher, and the child care profession requires knowledge, skills, and dispositions for being and becoming a teacher. For students who have not yet decided on their path in life, early childhood credentialing at the high school level remains an excellent way to explore the profession while getting rigorous training in child care. Most importantly, early learning for our children depends on high quality child care teachers.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nndss/
Child Care Aware of America (2018). State Fact Sheets. Retrieved from http://usa.childcareaware.org

To view the entire article, which includes the child care credentialing program requirements as well as the latest Wisconsin enrollment data on child care credentialing classes at the high school level, go to the April issue of ACTE’s Techniques magazine.