JCC Child Care, Distance Learning Specialists Attend Conference

February 7, 2002

Erin Smith, early childhood instructor and preschool director; Sylvia Proctor, distance learning coordinator, and Darryl McGraw, dean of information technology, represented Johnston Community College at the North Carolina Early Childhood Instructors Distance Learning Conference at Fayetteville Technical Community College late last fall.

The training event is a part of Project CONTACT (College Opportunity Networks and Technology Access for Child Care Teachers. CONTACT is a part of a statewide effort to expand the provision of flexible early childhood college courses offered via the Internet and to build the capacity of community college early childhood departments statewide to provide education opportunities for child care teachers at a distance.

The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is coordinating the project. Other partners are the N.C. Community College System, Division of Child Development and Smart Start, along with a host of state and local agencies working in partnership to develop the model.

"Providing quality child care experiences hinges on a strong network of qualified professionals working within a supportive educational and economic environment," Nicky Cox, head of the JCC Early Childhood Program and Smart Start Professional Development Coordinator, said.

"A critical component of quality child care is quality teaching. Quality teaching depends on a strong foundation provided by excellent personnel preparation and appropriate wage based compensations. In North Carolina, 50 percent of child care program directors and 75 percent of child care teachers have no degree past high school."

She said that North Carolina has made child care quality a priority. Additional funding has been allocated for teacher education, increasing wages and benefits, and delivering quality enhancement programs. A new five-star licensing system was implemented to encourage providers to voluntarily meet higher standards of quality.

"This is a start, yet more opportunities are needed for early childhood professionals to improve their education," Cox said.