Boston Globe December 2, 2001 by Caroline Louise Cole

METHUEN-A multimillion dollar state initiative is helping low-income mothers like Caribel Torres improve their job skills at the same time it reduces the state’s daycare worker shortage.

Called “Advancing the Field”, the two-year-old program is allowing Torres and other interested in preschool education to take college-level child development courses so they can qualify for certification as day-care teachers.

“I always wanted to go to college to become a teacher, but with two young children, I couldn’t afford it and I just didn’t know how to get started, “ said Torres, 21.  “Now after a few courses, I have learned so much about child development, I want to continue in school until I get my bachelor’s degree.”

Administered by the state Department of Education through its Community Partnership for Children program, the day-care teacher training is aimed at improving the quality of day care- workers by raising educational expectations as well as salaries, said Elisabeth Schaefer, the state’s early learning administrator.

“There is very strong research that indicates children who attend a strong early childhood program do better throughout their academic career, “Schaefer said.

Statewide, day-care teachers make 60 percent less than their counterparts in a kindergarten classroom, according to statistics provided by the state’s Office for Child Care Services.  Their turn over rate is also three times higher than public school teachers, the agency reported.

A year 2000 state study of day-care wages reported the average hourly age for a full-time, certified day-care teacher in Massachusetts is $11 an hour or $22,880 annually, $10, 780 less than their counterparts who are teaching in public school preschool programs.

Because of her lack of training, Torres was making even less than average, just $7 an hour as an assistant teacher at the Children’s Center in Methuen.  Thanks to her initial course work, she has moved into a full-time teaching position, and her pay has jumped more than $1 an hour, said Sue Griffin, the director of the Children’s Center and Torres’s boss.

To participate in the program, facilities like the Children’s Center join their regional Community Partnership for Children, which this year received a $104 million allocation from the Legislature, Schaefer said.  The Children’s Center is one of 62 members of the Greater Lawrence Community Partnership for Children, which serves Andover, North Andover, and Lawrence as well as Methuen.   It is one of  21 similar programs across the state, Schaefer said. 

Participation centers can then send their staff to training programs that are set up by their local partnerships, Schaefer said.  Torres attends classes at Northern Essex Community College at its Lawrence campus.

In addition to providing teaching training, the partnerships also provide day-care vouchers to low income families and provide technical assistance to help both center-based programs and family day-care programs meet national accreditation standards. Schaefer statistics on the number of day-care staff vacancies, the lack of qualified help has forced many centers to close classrooms, Schaefer said.

Griffin, the director of the Children’s Center, said she has 13 children on a waiting list because she was forced to close a toddler room for lack of a teacher.  She also has 30 more children waiting for a space in the center’s after-school program.

“There are just no teachers to be had in the area, “ Griffin said.

Mary Ellen King said the program she directs at the YMCA in Lawrence has suffered fewer than reported by others I the area, but she is nonetheless a very enthusiastic participant in the “Advancing the Field” program.

“We have a number of teachers who have wanted to go back to school but just couldn’t pay for it, “ King said.  “Through this program they are not only getting many other support services that make it easy for them to improve their skills.”

“Prior to this program, Northern Essex was only offering these courses in Haverhill and generally only during the day, which meant they were out of reach to most students because of transportation issues and their work schedules, “ Tetreault said.  “Because we have a better handle on the training needs, we are now offering up to seven different courses a semester during evening hours at the Lawrence location, some in Spanish.  We are also providing special support services to help students improve their study skills and their English-speaking skills.”

Students who get at least a B in the courses can also qualify for a one-time $50 stipend as well as better pay.

Tetreault said she is now working with other colleges in the state to provide courses locally that will help teachers gain more advanced college degrees.

“What we want is to promote a career ladder for day-care teachers, “she said.

An added benefit of the program is a new sense of respect the teachers feel as valued professionals, Kind said.