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Kathy Quirk
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New program provides a path to a four-year degree for child care providers
Venner Allston, the owner and director of A Grace First Steps Center, works with children at the center.

Venner Allston, the owner and director of A Grace First Steps Center, works with children at the center.

Venner Alston, the owner and director of A Grace First Steps Center, works with children at the center.

Photo by Alan Magayne-Roshak

From the UWM School of Education Annual Report

Children’s earliest years are critical. With more children finding educational opportunities outside the home in these early years, professional development for all early childhood educators is increasingly important.

A new collaborative program involving the School of Education, the School of Continuing Education and the UWM Children’s Center is giving child care center administrators and staff new opportunities to upgrade their skills.

The bachelor’s degree in Community Education, with a submajor in child care, is “a flexible option to help people in the child care field,” says Aaron Schutz, chair of the School of Education’s Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies. This degree program is designed for work force development at private and community-based child care centers, rather than as a path to certification for early childhood teachers working within school systems.

Community organizations are recognizing the importance of quality early childhood education to their overall efforts to improve life in the areas they serve, notes Schutz. “With our department’s expertise with working with non-traditional populations, this program is a good fit.”

Mary Andres (center) of UWM’s Childcare Center also teaches classes for center teachers. She’s pictured here at an introductory class that can be part of the new degree program.

The new degree is a collaborative effort involving Educational Policy and Community Studies, the UWM Children’s Center and the Center for Early Childhood Professional Development and Leadership in the School of Continuing Education.

The degree program, which includes online, hybrid (blended online and traditional courses) and evening classes, is designed with the needs of people already working in the field in mind, says Chip Donohue, director of the Center for Early Childhood Professional Development and Leadership.

“This offers a pathway to four-year degree completion,” for students who have already received certification through other programs or an associate’s degree through Milwaukee Area Technical College or other two-year programs, notes Donohue. The UWM Children’s Center provides experienced teachers for the program as well as opportunities for field experience.

“It really addresses a pressing need in the field,” says Donohue. “It’s nice to have this partnership among departments with different areas of expertise because everybody wins.”

Students in the new degree program can focus on an administrative or teaching track, and have the option of moving on into other areas – toward a master’s degree in administrative leadership to work in community education, for example.

Venner Alston, owner and director of A Grace First Steps Center, is typical of the many child care administrators who have benefited from UWM’s online programs already. She has earned a child care administrator certification and is enrolled in a new early childhood leadership initiative. She’s a supporter of increased professionalism in the field, and sees the blend of online and traditional classwork as one way to boost professionalism in the field.

Alston started her center, based at Abundant Grace Nondenominational Church, after 25 years working for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Like many in the field, she found the online options UWM offered fit her life. “I’ve always been interested in education. The constraint has been enrolling, then sitting in a classroom for 16-18 weeks for two or three times a week.” Online programs work for her, she says, because she can work when she wants and at her own pace. “It has accountability and flexibility. I can go online and participate in a class discussion even when I’m on the other side of the globe.”

The certificate program has already helped her develop her skills as well as giving her a helpful network of professionals who have helped mentor and encourage her, she says.

“I’m always looking at my program, at the quality of work we were doing. My desire was to raise the quality level,” says Alston. “I want to raise the bar. I want my staff to have the benefit of the same experience I’ve had. I want to encourage them as early childhood educators.”