SW Washington Early Childhood Education Bachelor's Degree

Now, students from Clark College, Lower Columbia College, and Centralia College, can seamlessly apply credits toward a bachelor's degree in early childhood education (ECE) from Concordia University.

We'll update this page with future info session dates at your college. In the meantime, please feel free to contact the representative at your college for more information on the program.

• Lower Columbia College, Ann Williamson at awilliamson@lcc.ctc.edu or (360)442-2892.
• Centralia College, Cristi Heitschmidt, cheitschmidt@centralia.edu, 360-736-9391 x654
• Clark College, Laurie Cornelius, LCornelius@clark.edu, 360-992-2398.

The bachelor's degree satisfies the Head Start Reauthorization Act of 2007 that at least 50% of Head Start teachers have a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education by September 2013. This is a non-licensure program.

If you live in Southwest Washington and are a current or recent education student at Clark, Centralia, or Lower Columbia, this program could be a perfect fit! Of course, you will also need to genuinely love working with children, exhibit high ethical standards, welcome diversity, and want to positively influence the lives of young people!

As the importance of early childhood education grows, so too will the requirements for bachelor's level degrees and your opportunities to improve the lives of the youngest learners, setting them on a course for a life-long love of learning.

Your teachers will build supportive, collegial relationships in a program where you will

1. Be known by your name
2. Take classes in a small cohort
3. Enjoy hybrid courses so commute time is minimized and learn time maximized
4. Learn from a curriculum that is hands-on, research-based, and practical to ensure you are confident and prepared
5. Be taught by experienced, licensed educators, many of whom will be the same Southwest Washington education professionals you have come to know and respect on your own campus

Educating teachers has been central to Concordia University's mission since its founding in 1905. Today our objective remains the same: to prepare quality teachers who understand that education demands tremendous energy, creativity, commitment, and service to children and families.

The importance of early childhood education has been highlighted at the highest levels of industry, nonprofit and government -- from the White House to the Gates Foundation, as well as Washington State's Department of Early Learning and Thrive by Five efforts. By 2013 at least 50% of Head Start teachers are required to have a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education, according to the Head Start Reauthorization Act of 2007.

Research in early childhood education shows that:

• one of the most critical times to influence learning in a child's life is the period before he or she reaches kindergarten.
• to get off to the right start, children need to enter kindergarten emotionally, socially, and intellectually ready for learning. If they are unprepared in these ways and lack other early skills they may start kindergarten behind and never catch up.
• More than half of the children in Washington State start kindergarten unprepared to learn, according to the Gates Foundation.

• http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/
• http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education
• http://www.gatesfoundation.org/topics/Pages/early-learning.aspx
• http://www.thrivebyfivewa.org/

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates that job growth for educators at the preschool level will be 14-19% faster than average for other professions and employment projections point to up to 180,000 additional job openings nationally now through 2018. By 2013 at least 50% of Head Start teachers are required to have a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education, according to the Head Start Reauthorization Act of 2007.