DOVER — As the workforce in Delaware continues to evolve, so, too, does the need for early childhood professionals and one partnership is ready to tackle the issue head on.
A new, state-of-the-art learning facility is now underway as a result of that collaborative effort between Delaware’s Department of Education, Governor John Carney’s office and Delaware State University (DSU)’s Education Department which was officially announced in November 2021. Plans quickly started taking shape as DSU worked to develop a statewide infrastructure for those hoping to enter the early childhood education profession through the Early Childhood Innovation Center, or ECIC for short.
Last year, efforts were finally realized when the group’s first cohort of students vying for a Child Development Associate (CDA), a nationally recognized credential, graduated from the ECIC program in June. That first cohort included 223 students. Meanwhile, all of the students also work at least 20 hours in a licensed early education facility concurrently while doing their studies.
A new facility
This fall, ECIC Executive Director Dr. Kimberly Krzanowski, DSU President Dr. Tony Allen, members of the DSU Board of Trustees and Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Mark Holodick celebrated another milestone toward their plan to overhaul early education in the First State.
A beam signing ceremony was held on Sept. 26 at DSU’s main campus where the new ECIC is being built which will not only serve more children but will also provide a state-of-the-art learning facility for those entering and researching the field. Officials behind the scenes hope the new building will be completed by March of next year.
Although the facility and program is housed at DSU, officials say it remains a collaborative effort between DSU, the state of Delaware and other local higher education institutions.
“About two years ago, the state of Delaware decided that they wanted to reallocate funds for early childhood in a more innovative way,” Krzanowski told the Delaware Business Times. “They really wanted to invest in professionals doing the work. The ECIC was born out of that and really the necessity to streamline the supports and programs, bringing them all under one roof. . . It really was a legacy project for the Governor’s office.”
The new, two-story building came in at around 14,000 square feet and will nearly double the birth to five capacity of the current ECIC program, she added. To design and build the facility, it cost more than $14 million. While some of that funding came from the state Department of Education, some came from the governor’s 2021 commitment of $30.6 million over the course of five years starting in 2021 to help the partnership establish the ECIC program and facility, stemming from American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The new building will feature top-of-the-line security measures including cameras, badges and other means of keeping the students, faculty and children safe, along with the childcare center and lab itself, complete with research and observatory space, on the first floor and two large meeting spaces and other office facilities on the second floor. The team has also researched ways to include outdoor education in their programming at the new facility.
Removing barriers to access
As exciting as the new building may be for the ECIC partners, it’s only a part of the plan, Krzanowski emphasized.
“We have three main initiatives. We have a scholarship program that includes all of the local higher education institutions, as well as a partner out of state with a Spanish program. We have a robust career advisement team who really takes into consideration our students’ goals and can even match them with other jobs in this profession when it works. And we have the national credential, the CDA, which is industry standard,” she told DBT. “We try to remove any barrier that we can to allow people to really succeed.”
The ECIC program has embedded financial incentives students can achieve as they progress through the CDA credentialing program which can also work toward associate and bachelor’s degrees in the field. Students also receive a laptop with Microsoft Office so they can do their work while involved in the program.
“They can also earn milestone financial incentives along the way which can pay for childcare, transportation, or, as we say, life,” Krzanowski told DBT. “Many of the students are working moms and need somewhere for their children to go that’s safe and affordable and they need help getting that.”
Financial incentives for students include a $1,000 bonus after earning the CDA, a $5,000 bonus after earning an associate degree from the program and a $10,000 bonus when a bachelor’s degree is earned, as well as other financial incentives throughout the duration of their programming.
“We really wanted to be sure that it would be worth it at the end for the hard work in obtaining a degree. It’s not easy,” Krzanowski said.
Although students work at least 20 hours while enrolled in the ECIC program, the Delaware Early Learning Workforce Study Phase I published in 2022 showed that the average pay for child care workers in Delaware was $10.99 per hour as employers work to reach Delaware’s new minimum wage – often not enough to pay the bills and afford for childcare on their own to allow them to take the time needed for their studies.
“We’ve been told already by many students that [financial incentives] has really helped our students be able to go back to school in the first place,” she said. “And we know that the program is working to benefit those wages, too. Our scholars who graduate from this program are making on average $18 to 20 per hour, plus benefits. We have students that have started off coming to us making, let’s say, $12 per hour, and then in four years, they have a $15,000 increase.”
The team behind the scenes have already noticed a difference as they work to reach their goals of not only recruiting early education professionals in Delaware, but retaining them, as well. Krzanowski said more than 90% of graduates are still in the early education field in the First State, many also working toward a higher degree.
“We want to emphasize that what this program signals to the community, state and nation is that Delaware continues to be focused on early childhood education,” she told DBT.
