RICHMOND, Va. — Taylor Harris is one success story of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation’s (VECF) Early Educator Fast Track initiative.
“I work with school-aged and infants,” the assistant teacher told CBS 6 inside New Direction Childcare and Learning Center on the city’s Southside. “Being able to see their milestones is so beautiful. It's such a warm, heartwarming feeling.”
Harris is one of 40 new educators placed with 13 childcare centers when the Fast Track program launched in Central Virginia last May.
“They have competitive compensation starting at $17 an hour, and then you can keep going and earning more,” Harris explained.
The initiative connects early childhood education programs with newly trained assistant teachers.
Fast Track trainees who enroll in the program will be paid a competitive wage ($17 per hour in this region) and receive four weeks of paid online and on-site training and guaranteed job placement, with bonuses at six months and one year of employment, according to a press release.
“If we're going to have a stronger economy, if we're going to have happy and healthy and prosperous families, we've got to do more to help families access, quality, affordable childcare,” said Karin Bowles, VECF’s vice president of strategy.
Early childhood programs in the region that participated in Fast Track last year reopened closed classrooms, expanded classrooms and/or served more children and families.
“We love those stories of people that this is a really meaningful career switch for them,” Bowles recalled.
The application deadline has been extended to Monday, April 1.
“If you are feeling passionate about working with children, you've been second guessing, or you've been seeing little signs — take this as your big sign to go and apply,” Harris stated.
To be eligible for the Early Educator Fast Track program, applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent, have English proficiency, pass required background checks and be eligible for employment in the U.S.
Participants will commit to one year of employment at one of the participating centers. Applicants may have experience or be brand-new to early childhood education; those already employed at a child care site are not eligible.
Those interested in taking part in the program should click here to complete a brief interest form.
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