The Vermont Child Care Industry & Careers Council
News

On a recent Thursday evening a local Burlington restaurant teemed with groups of women business owners and their employees. This was not your typical business meeting though. They are all owners, directors or teachers at area early childhood programs, and all are involved in a unique professional opportunity called the Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program (VCCAP).

“Early childhood education is becoming essential for every child. I believe it is also essential to support teachers’ pursuits of further education and training. I am looking forward to growing both as a mentor and watching my apprentice shine!” says Charlotte Children’s Center’s Christie Miller, enthusiastically.

The evening gives the women a chance to meet with VCCAP staff to discuss their accomplishments and challenges. In these child care programs, employers team their seasoned teachers with staff that is newer to the field. These teams of mentors and apprentices work with each other for two years. Using a tool called the Early Childhood Daily Activities Assessment ©, Mentors observe their apprentices, record their observations and then the teams meet and discuss the observations. Mentors listen to their apprentices’ needs, coach them, support them, and seek to improve apprentices’ classroom skills over time.

Catamount Children’s Center Apprentice Jami Parrow says, “this program gives us a chance to better ourselves for the love of our job.” Her mentor, Jenn Maestas says that she feels “the program gives the mentors and apprentices a chance to sit down together and spend quality time talking about issues that are important to each other, the working environment and child care in general.”

In addition to their on the job training, apprentices enroll in six, three credit college courses over the same two year time period. These courses cover the core subject areas of any early childhood degree. They are currently offered through the Community College of Vermont, and are in the Vermont State Colleges catalog. However, what is most impressive about these courses is that they are offered tuition free to apprentices and other early childhood and afterschool professionals. This January both Infant-Toddler Development and Leadership, Mentoring and Supervision are offered in Burlington, with twenty students in each section.

“I’m excited about the level of commitment to professionalism this program brings to the children and parents. It has created excitement at our center,” says Kristin McLary, director of Charlotte Children’s Center.

Upon completion of VCCAP both mentors and apprentices have developed stronger teaching and communication skills and have increased their formal education. In addition, the program supports the teachers by giving them a monetary scholarship each time they successfully complete courses.

Judy LaClair, director of Nadeau’s Playschool in Williston has been in the early childhood field for over twenty years. By participating in VCCAP she models lifelong learning to her staff. LaClair says, “As a mentor, the Apprenticeship Program is a great opportunity to grow and learn professionally and develop mentally on a day to day basis with my apprentice. It is a very rewarding process.”

Vermont Child Care Industry & Careers Council. All rights reserved.
Revised: 2/19/07