The Curtis Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation announces new comprehensive scholarships for early childhood educator certificates

The Curtis Fund, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, is pleased
to announce a bold scholarship program for Vermonters seeking to become early childhood
educators. The Curtis Fund Commitment: A Comprehensive Scholarship for Early Childhood
Educators is a pilot program that will provide scholarships for the full cost of attendance
(tuition, fees, housing, food, and transportation) to students who wish to earn a certificate in
child care at the Community College of Vermont (CCV).

“The high cost of educating early childhood educators and the low wages they earn upon
graduation causes significant problems for Vermont families and employers alike,” says Amy
Mellencamp, president of The Curtis Fund’s Board of Directors. “Yet our society and economy
are dependent upon the availability of child care workers.”

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the median annual wage for a child care worker in
Vermont is $29,430. The combined high cost of postsecondary education and low salary are
discouraging people from becoming early childhood educators and creating financial hardship
for those that do. The Curtis Fund hopes to address this by investing in a certificate program as
a more affordable way to prepare early childhood educators. Most importantly, this program
will allow students to graduate with the knowledge and skills they need to start their careers,
debt-free.

“We anticipate learning a lot from this pilot program and are grateful to an anonymous donor
who is generously funding it,” says Shana Trombley, executive director of The Curtis Fund. “It is
our hope that by covering the full cost of attendance we can help more early childhood
educators earn their certificate efficiently and debt-free, thereby creating a viable pipeline for
educating more early childhood educators to meet the demand.”

Child care certificate graduates must complete a 24-hour credit program and obtain one year of
classroom experience to qualify as a teacher associate. According to Let’s Grow Kids, another
supporting organization of the Community Foundation, teacher associates could fill an
estimated 1,600 of the 2,090 openings for early childhood educators in Vermont.

The pilot program will be available to students graduating from career and technical education
programs focused on early childhood education and/or human services. There are 12 of these
programs across the state and they help high school juniors and seniors establish a strong
foundation from which to enter the early childhood education field.

The Curtis Fund is partnering with the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children
(VTAEYC) to identify potential candidates. VTAEYC has a strong track record of developing
programs to help prospective early childhood educators attain the education they need to
achieve their career goals.

“We know it’s going to take all of us working together to solve the child care challenge,” says
CCV president Joyce Judy. \”We are pleased to partner with The Curtis Fund and VTAEYC in this
effort to invest in early childhood educators, strengthen the child care workforce, and support
working families—a win-win-win for Vermont.” 

Janet McLaughlin, executive director of VTAEYC, adds, “Vermont families need skilled and
passionate early childhood educators. We are excited about The Curtis Fund Commitment
scholarship program because it rewards students for choosing this path.”

For more information about The Curtis Fund Commitment: A Comprehensive Scholarship for
Early Childhood Educators and to learn how to apply, please contact
teachearlychildhoodvermont@vtaeyc.org or call (802) 387-0870.