Race to the Top-Professional Development Bonus Project (WEB)

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It is clear that many child care programs, even those at the highest levels of quality, are not all actively addressing issues of Professional Development. Many child care programs that applied to the Professional Development Bonus Project had never completed professional development plans for their staff before, nor had they considered how to support staff in meeting their professional development goals. What did we learn? The Professional Development Bonus Project offered incentives to early learning and development programs that implemented specific staff development policies and practices. The project granted a one-time bonus award to North Carolina four and five star licensed early learning programs that participated in training on the North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development, Cultural Competence, and Choosing and Using an Appropriate Curriculum and Formative Assessment. Incentives have been key to helping the early childhood community embrace and work toward higher standards, and to reward teachers for their service and dedication to their facilities. Child care centers and family child care homes were eligible to participate. Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements, an award was provided to the facility. The amount of the award was based on the number of children aged birth to five (pre-kindergarten) enrolled in the program, as of the date of application. PARTNERS 1 CONTINUED Professional Development Bonus Project

Transcript of Race to the Top-Professional Development Bonus Project (WEB)

Page 1: Race to the Top-Professional Development Bonus Project (WEB)

• It is clear that many child care programs, even those at the highest levels of quality, are not all actively addressing issues of Professional Development.

• Many child care programs that applied to the Professional Development Bonus Project had never completed professional development plans for their staff before, nor had they considered how to support staff in meeting their professional development goals.

What did we learn?

The Professional Development Bonus Project offered

incentives to early learning and development programs

that implemented specific staff development policies and

practices. The project granted a one-time bonus award to

North Carolina four and five star licensed early learning

programs that participated in training on the North

Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development,

Cultural Competence, and Choosing and Using an

Appropriate Curriculum and Formative Assessment.

Incentives have been key to helping the early childhood

community embrace and work toward higher standards,

and to reward teachers for their service and dedication

to their facilities. Child care centers and family child care

homes were eligible to participate. Upon satisfactory

completion of the requirements, an award was provided

to the facility. The amount of the award was based on the

number of children aged birth to five (pre-kindergarten)

enrolled in the program, as of the date of application.

PARTNERS

1CONTINUED

Professional Development B o n u s P ro j e c t

Page 2: Race to the Top-Professional Development Bonus Project (WEB)

• Child care programs participating in the project at all award levels have seen the benefits.

• After participating in the project, there may be a greater likelihood that staff professional development will be supported by administration and that teachers will be motivated to seek out professional development opportunities.

• Continued support focused on professional development planning will help programs to internalize such planning as an important part of their work with children and families.

What did we learn? continued

The Professional Development Bonus Project encouraged

and supported the professional development of staff in

early care and education programs, which translated to

more knowledgeable staff providing higher quality care

to children. Anecdotally, some programs that received

the award also provided incentives directly to staff,

such as bonuses, dinner events and other forms of staff

recognition. These incentives promoted staff satisfaction

within their current program and encouraged longevity in

their position.

PD Bonuses by Award Level Totals by Facility Type:91 Family Child Care Home Awards 201 Child Care Center Awards

Through this project, 324 applications were received, and 292 awards were granted to 4- and 5- star facilities in North Carolina. Of these, 201 awards were made to child care centers, and 91 awards were made to family child care homes. In total, $311,800 in awards were distributed, impacting 12,378 children. This chart illustrates the number of awards given at each award level.

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0Family ChildCare Homes

($300)

Center 2-25Children($500)

Center 25-50Children($1,00)

Center 51-75Children($1,500)

Center 76-100Children($2,000)

Center101-125

Children($2,500)

Center 126 or more Children

($3,000)

Number of Children Affected by Award Level/Program TypeTotal Children Impacted: 11,896

Number of Children Affected (by FTE)

22

91

6340

30

26

20

$300 (Family Child Care Home)$500 (Center 2-25 children)$1000 (Center 26-50 children)$1500 (Center 51-75 children)$2000 (Center 76-100 children)$2500 (Center 101-125 children)$3000 (Center 126 or more children)

The chart above illustrates the number of children impacted by each award level.

Professional Development B o n u s P ro j e c t

Funded by the State of North Carolina through a federal Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant http://earlylearningchallenge.nc.gov

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services | Division of Child Development and Early Educationwww.ncdhhs.gov | www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/dcdee

N.C. DHHS is an equal opportunity employer and provider. 12/16 2