Michigan’s PreK for All Roadmap has the ambitious goal of enrolling 75% of all 4-year-olds in high-quality Pre-K programs by 2027, which will add an additional 32,000 students to classrooms. It is estimated that at least 1700 additional lead teachers and 3400 associate teachers will be needed for this expansion. Michigan is already facing a workforce shortage in early childhood education and this, along with high rates of turnover, mental health issues, and poor compensation, has left the field struggling to find qualified teachers.
With us today are Erica Willard, Executive Director for the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children, and Dick Bulkowski, Executive Director, of Steepletown Neighborhood Services to discuss what supports, programming, and incentives are being offered to create pathways to earn early childhood credentials and degrees to address this need for more early education professionals.
To learn more about these opportunities, visit https://miaeyc.org/t-e-a-c-h-scholarships/ and https://steepletown.org/training-services/ece/.
