SCC responds to statewide ‘childcare crisis’ with short-term Classroom Ready Academy beginning Feb. 5
Southeastern Community College is gearing up to battle the childcare crisis in North Carolina with the newly established Classroom Ready Academy that runs Feb. 5. through Feb. 19. This completely free academy creates a pool of certified childcare workers ready to meet the needs of childcare providers in Columbus County. SCC Early Childhood Education instructor Amanda Heath is ready to “hit the ground running” with this statewide initiative to fill childcare centers with qualified staff.
“This childcare academy is going to be the classroom ready model, where we help folks get ready to meet the qualifications that are needed to work in childcare,” Heath said. “This will be about two weeks long with classes meeting on Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. This is a hybrid format with some required online trainings as well.”
After completing the academy, students will have CPR, first aid, fire extinguisher safety training, infant/toddler safe sleep and sudden infant death syndrome, playground safety, and child maltreatment suspicions certifications as well as get their criminal background check through the state. They will have watched eight health and safety videos required to work in childcare facilities and one specific to medication administration training. Students will take a test after watching each video.
Heath described the academy as an “orientation piece that gets all the leg work out of the way” and takes care of the pre-employability pieces for childcare workers. With this academy, students are certified by the North Carolina Division of Child Development to work around children or in childcare centers for ages of birth through 8 years old.
“I’m excited about this, and it’s our first go-around with this academy,” Heath said. “The need is there, and I’m excited to support students personally and professionally. I hope this will make a difference in the childcare crisis, and I’m excited to get this going.”
Heath explained that flexibility of a short-term class is a major advantage of this Classroom Ready Academy. Heath will provide one-on-one instruction and guidance for students, while they complete components of the requirements that she said, “were often found confusing and expensive for students to complete on their own.”
“With technology being a barrier for some people and all certifications done online, I want to let students know that they are getting in-person help, and I’m here to support them,” Heath said.
With the baseline certifications checked off, Heath said Classroom Ready Academy completers have a jumpstart on their associates degree in early childhood education. Because of SCC’s one college model, these stackable credentials earned through short-term training makes it easier and more flexible for working students with families to support.
“Once they complete this academy, they’ll be ready to take my EDU 119 course, Introduction to Early Childhood Education, in B term which starts March 6th,” Heath said. “With that course, upon completion, it makes students eligible for their North Carolina Early Childhood credential through the state. That credential serves as having the title or position of a teacher.”
Why it’s needed
With childcare facilities having long waiting lists for child acceptance into centers, Heath said the Classroom Ready Academy will create a pipeline for qualified workers to gain employment at centers. More workers available create more open spots for children at childcare centers. Heath said that childcare is a barrier for parents to enter the workforce, so more available spots at centers help lift that burden.
“We need staff at these childcare centers, and we have to make sure we’re following all the rules and regulations for the state because quality matters too,” Heath said. “With health and safety standards, we must follow child-to-staff ratios to even bring the children in.”
Local childcare provider perspective
Kid Kare Academy owner Wyche Watts, a 25-year veteran in the childcare industry who built her business from the ground up in Whiteville, said this Classroom Ready Academy is a gamechanger for employers and employees in childcare. With her childcare center based on staff-to-child ratios, Watts needs qualified workers so she can accept more children and cut down on her waiting list.
“We’re having a really hard time finding good, qualified candidates to work in childcare, and as you know, childcare is the backbone of businesses,” Watts said. “Employees wouldn’t be able to go to work because they have no one to watch their children.”
Watts explained that having qualified candidates ready to work lifts a heavy burden off employers because, many times, she would have to pay for a candidate’s training and qualification process. She praised SCC’s new childcare academy class in providing free access to state certifications and a background check.
“This is a huge first step in getting people who want to make a career out of this,” Watts said. “The issue of not having enough workers has gotten worse, and I am so glad that Southeastern is offering this program to streamline the process of getting qualified workers through the door.”
Clarice Faison, owner of Precious Minds Learn N Play Academy in Cerro Gordo, said that SCC’s Classroom Ready Academy is a “win-win” for her and her future employees. Already having the minimum standards required by the state, she said, will alleviate stress, time and expense for her business.
“One of the bigger issues we’re facing is finding people who want to work, let alone having that passion for children,” Faison said. “But with this new class at Southeastern, we couldn’t ask for anything better in helping them enter the workforce in a speedy manner. With the boots on the ground approach, I think this is a win-win for us all.”
Are you ready to work at childcare centers in your area? Register for the Classroom Ready Academy at Southeastern Community College by clicking this link. Have more questions? Contact Amanda Heath at 910-788-6409 or [email protected]
