•May 13, 2020•
Knowing that effective, skilled, and diverse early childhood educators are a lynchpin to classroom quality, Gov. JB Pritzker has awarded the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) $1.3 million in grants to strengthen the early childhood workforce. The funding comes from a $13.4 million grant to Illinois from the federal Preschool Development Birth to Five Renewal Grant.
Funds will be used by colleges and universities to help early educators attain a credential or degree. That could mean providing supports such as tailored advising and mentoring, job-embedded coaching, access to technology, transportation, childcare, and supports for course and other administrative and instructional fees. Illinois has a history of institution-led programs of tailored supports for early childhood educators, and evaluations have demonstrated that they can be helpful for current early childhood educators pursuing degrees or credentials to improve their practice.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.