The California CTC Discusses Multiple Pathways to Teaching in Preschool and TK at Recent Meeting
On September 30th, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) convened for its fall meeting. At this meeting, Informational Item 2A: Establishing Multiple, Accessible Pathways to a Permit or Credential Authorizing Service in State Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten was presented for the Commission member discussion and deliberation by Phyliss Jacobsen CTC Administrator, Professional Services Division. The agenda item focused on proposed strategies for developing multiple pathways for individuals to meet eligibility to teach in preschool and/or Transitional Kindergarten (TK).
CTC Item 2A provided two specific proposals to improve pathways to becoming an ECE and TK teacher. The first part of the agenda item proposed revising the ECE Specialist Credential to create a bridge credential that would focus on the skills needed for successfully teaching in Preschool-Grade 3 (P-3) and would allow this credential to serve as a “bridge”, linking the Child Development Permit (CDP), required for preschool teachers, and the Multiple Subject (MS) credential, required for TK teachers, and thereby make both pools of teachers available to serve in TK. CTC staff provided ideas on what could be required to meet this bridge credential, with the goal of making it a stackable credential. Proposed requirements included:
- A base credential, including but not necessarily limited to a MS credential or a CDP
- A bachelor’s degree or higher
- Professional preparation and subject matter competence in early childhood education, curriculum, and pedagogy through Grade 3. For the MS credential holder, preparation would focus on the required 24 units of ECE for assignment in TK. The CDP Teacher preparation would focus on K-3 curriculum and pedagogy.
- Preparation with deeper focus on Dual Language Learners
- Completion of a teaching performance assessment that includes a focus on literacy development for either the MS credential or the CDP Teacher level permit
The underlying goal of the ECE Specialist Bridge Credential is to build upon educators’ prior experience teaching in either an ECE or K-12 setting and create a stackable certification that provides accessible and equitable pathways to teaching in TK.
The second part of agenda Item 2A focused on updating the Child Development Permit, which was developed in the 1990s and has not been updated since. In 2017, an advisory panel of ECE experts developed recommendations on how to update the CDP to be relevant for today. These recommendations were tabled at the time due to the development of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care. Now the Commission is ready to revisit these recommendations and consider potential changes to the Permit Matrix.
Public and Commissioner Comment on Item 2A
After Phyliss Jacobson from CTC finished providing an overview of the agenda item, the public had the opportunity to comment. Early Edge provided remarks that applauded the CTC for exploring the creation of multiple pathways to recruit teachers, including credentialed teachers interested in ECE, and CDP teachers who have a BA and teach 4-year-olds. We underscored the need to focus on streamlining processes and integrating systems to ensure that the credential structure adopted is equitable and removes unnecessary barriers while also strengthening the skills and knowledge critical to child development and supporting dual language learners. Early Edge also raised the issue of compensation and urged the CTC to look closely at how this could impact pay parity across the Early Learning and Care field.
After public comment concluded, CTC Commissioners had the opportunity to react to the agenda item and public comment. Commissioners largely agreed that this was a necessary step in the right direction to remove barriers to teaching and an opportunity to think about what skills and knowledge are necessary to be successful. Several also raised similar questions that were raised in public comment about compensation and equity and underscored the need to monitor these areas closely as a bridge credential is developed. One Commissioner also asked about next steps in this process given all of the feedback that had been received from the public, to which CTC Executive Director, Mary Sandy, responded that the CTC will look into developing focus groups on this to continue active public participation and will likely have this as an agenda item at the next several CTC meetings.
Next Steps
In addition to developing focus groups to continue discussions on the ECE Specialist Bridge Credential, the CTC plans to survey LEA employers this fall to assess how they are staffing TK classrooms. The CTC also plans to develop an ECE Work Group to inform the development of a bridge credential and review the previous recommendations for updating the CDP. The next CTC meeting will be held December 9th and 10th. Learn more about the CTC.