MARYSVILLE, Calif. – The Yuba Community College District (YCCD) has received a $348,000 grant to encourage students to enter the Early Childhood Education (ECE) career pathway.

The grant will run through Feb. 28, 2014, and is designed to strengthen the pipeline from elementary to post-secondary education for all students with an emphasis in the area of ECE through career awareness, additional Career Technical Education (CTE) courses, bringing community college classes to the high school campus, and providing engaging workshops and camp activities for students.

A major focus for this California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office CTE Pathways Initiative and Community Collaborative Project is to continue the pipeline for students onto state colleges and universities and to prepare students interested in careers as credentialed teachers by formalizing feeder programs and outlining for students road maps to achieve those goals.

“This grant will enable us to not only show students that ECE is a career option at a very early age, but will also give us the resources necessary to make sure interested students matriculate through college in this field,” said Dr. Beatriz Espinoza, vice chancellor for Educational Planning and Services at YCCD.

A career exploration and peer mentoring will be implemented at the middle school level to increase peer support at school and increase excitement about attending high school.

Middle school students also will be exposed to the community college campus and instructors through field trips and the Kinders go to College event.

Partners have developed an articulated pathway between Regional Occupational Programs (ROP) Careers in Education, Community College course Preschool Teaching Practices and field experience with school age children allowing the opportunity for students to earn 6 units of college credit.

YCCD will offer an ECE course on the high school campus to help encourage awareness and interest in the ECE certificate and degree programs.

Yolo County ROP will also develop an ECE entrepreneurial camp designed to assist students in becoming childcare providers and online blended courses in ECE to reach out to rural students and out of school youth.

The goals for this grant are to prepare students for a high skill and in demand ECE workforce. In doing so the project management team will provide extensive outreach to target populations in Careers in Education and Child Development.

Yolo ROP will provide basic employment strategies such as resume writing, interviewing techniques, and receiving letters of recommendation.

Students in the ECE program will also complete an internship at a childcare facility or elementary school.

The internship is critical for students to obtain work experience in child-centered educational activities, safety and child nutrition.

For additional questions please contact Project Director Lori Perez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Yuba Community College District spans eight counties and nearly 4,200 square miles of territory in rural, north-central California. It has colleges in Marysville and Woodland, an educational center in Clearlake, outreach operations at Beale Air Force Base and in Williams, and will be adding an outreach facility in Sutter County as part of the Measure J facilities bond.

For more information about YCCD please visit our Web site at www.yccd.edu .