Early Childhood Development Infant/Toddler Specialist

This certificate provides students who are interested in becoming aides, assistant teachers and head teachers in programs that serve infants and toddlers with the skills and competencies they will need to be successful. This certificate will enable them to become a fully qualified teacher and director according to state licensing regulations as well as meet the Early Childhood Education course requirements of the California Child Development Permit for Associate Teacher and Teacher (with additional genera leducation requirements and work experience requirements fulfilled). Students who already possess a BA degree in any subject will be able to earn a Master Teacher or Site Supervisor Permit.

Students who earn this certificateand meet experience requirements as identified by the CA Commission on TeacherCredentialing (CTC) are eligible to:  provideservice in the care, development, and instruction of children in a child careand development program, and supervise an Assistant and an aide.

Students who earn this certificate and meet general education and experience requirements as identified by the CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) are eligible to: provide service in the care, development and instruction of children in a child care and development program and supervise an Associate Teacher, Assistant and an aide.

A minimum grade of “C” in each course is required to earn the certificate and/or qualify for the Child Development Permit.

Based on current class enrollment, we expect to have 15-20 students complete this certificate every year.

This certificate addresses a clear Career Education program goal: to prepare students to be teachers of Infants and Toddlers in early care and education programs.  The program strives to meet or exceed the following goals: enhance the student’s learning by teaching the information, tools and techniques in the most meaningful teaching format; provide courses that reflect current practice and research; provide theory and practice that can be applied to their professional work with infants and toddlers; remain current with local, regional, state and federal regulations and funding models; expand student’s knowledge and ability to work with diverse children, families and communities; model and integrate professional ethical standards into our coursework; offer coursework that serves the specialized needs of the profession such as varied certificates and specializations.

In this certificate program students will gain the skills,competencies and knowledge necessary to be successful infant/toddler teachers,with knowledge of the special needs of this age group within early childhood programs. The courses that the students will complete will give them a strong foundation in: the knowledge of early childhood development; the components of a high quality early childhood program; specific knowledge of the developmental needs of this age group; how to create developmentally appropriate curriculum that is culturally sensitive and supports families.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
ECD 50	Early Childhood Principles & Practices	3	S1
ECD 56	Child Growth and Development	3	S1
ECD 62	Child, Family & Community	3	S1
ECD 63	Early Childhood Curriculum	4	S2
ECD 67	Infant/Toddler Development	3	S2
ECD 87	Quality Environments for Infants & Toddlers	3	S3
Option	(see below)	3	S3
ECD 90	Practicum/Supervised Experience	4	S4

Option -- one course selected from the following:

ECD 54 Child Health/Safety/Nutrition                                      3units

ECD 69 Child Study/Observation                                              3units

ECD 79 Teaching in a Diverse Society                                      3units

ECD 60 Introduction to the  Young Child with 

              Exceptional Needs                                                        3units

A minimum grade of “C” in each course is required to earn thecertificate and/or qualify for the Child Development Permit.

The earliest years of life are critical to building a foundation for lifelong learning. Young children need settings in which they can learn and explore in a nurturing and educationally rich environment with teachers who understand how to foster their social, emotional and cognitive development. Increasing amounts of evidence point to the particular importance of high quality learning and care environments for the youngest children, infants and toddlers. From Elizabeth DiLauro, Advocacy Specialist, ZERO TO THREE Policy Network January 2009; Updated June 2010: Children who participated in Early Head Start [the federally funded early education program for infants and toddlers from low-income families.] showed statistically significant, positive impacts on standardized measures of cognitive and language development, as compared to control group children eligible for Early Head Start who did not participate. Additionally, Early Head Start children had more positive interactions with their parents than control group children—the children engaged their parents more, and these parents rated their children lower in aggressive behavior than did the parents in the control group. By creating positive outcomes for intellectual and social/emotional development, Early Head Start moves children further along the path leading to greater school readiness. High quality programs need well trained teachers, and this certificate will give students the core knowledge they need in child development as well as specialized knowledge of infant/toddler development, caregiving, curriculum and environments. The requirements for the California Child Development permit are expected to be changed and increased in the near future. It is not yet clear what the new requirements will be; however, there is a possibility that units in Infant/Toddler care and education will be part of a new set of core requirements to qualify for permits; students who earn this certificate will be able to meet those new qualifications. Finally, the early childhood community is striving to actively improve the measurable quality of its programs; one way it does that is by measuring the education level of directors and administrators. In Quality Counts, the Quality Rating and Improvement System for Alameda County, preschools are rated on seven criteria, one of which is Lead Teacher Qualifications. Currently, the rating matrix awards only 1 point to teachers who have fewer than 24 units of ECE/CD. Teachers with an AA degree in any field plus 24 units of ECE/CD can earn 4 points (out of 5) to programs; teachers with a BA in any field plus 24 units of ECE/CD can earn 5 points. Under the new rating matrix that will go into effect in July 2020, only 3 points (out of 15) can be awarded to a lead teacher with fewer than 24 units of ECE/CD; a teacher with an AA degree and 24 units can earn 9 points, those with a BA and 24 units, 12 points. Students with degrees who complete this certificate and work at a site participating in Quality Counts would be able to help their site improve their rating, and therefore qualify for quality rewards funding. (Under current regulations, all California State Preschools and Head Start sites are required to participate in Quality Counts.)

A Merritt College in Oakland, they offer an Infant/Toddler Certificate of Proficiency; we contacted Dean of Liberal Arts and Social Science Dr. Syed Hussain. Dr. Hussain forwarded our email to the CTE Dean Dr. Rick Ramos, who responded that after consulting with the Child Development Faculty they are not concerned about impact to their program as students from their service area rarely come to our college to take courses. City College of San Francisco offers a Certificate of Achievement in Infant/Toddler Care. We contacted Dean of the College of Health, PE and Social Services, City College of San Francisco, Dr. Edith Kaeuper, who forwarded our request to Kathleen White, coordinator of the Child Development and Family Studies department. Ms. White responded, "Due to the tremendous workforce needs in the region, I see no conflict or regional overlap between our two colleges."