The Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation is launching a new Early Childhood Fellowship program at UMass Boston for early educators seeking to complete their bachelor’s degree.
Students will receive training in entrepreneurial leadership, assessment, curriculum development and implementation, family support, and home- and center-based program development. They will graduate with a working knowledge of equity and social-justice practices, an understanding of typical and atypical child growth and learning, and proficiency in ethics and professionalism.
Students will also graduate from the program without any debt: The Early Childhood Fellowship will cover the costs of tuition and fees, books, and a laptop or tablet computer. Fellows will be paid for work completed during their required field placements, and they will also receive a stipend each semester to pay for expenses incurred to attend school, such as transportation and childcare. In return, Fellows will sign a memorandum of understanding committing to work as an early educator in the city of Boston for at least three years after earning their degree. By the end of the program, Early Childhood Fellows will have jobs and be prepared to immediately contribute and lead in diverse settings including family childcare, center-based, Head Start, and PreK programs.
The Fellowship is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act through a grant from the city of Boston to support the recovery and expansion of the early childhood workforce. The grants were announced at a press conference November 21, 2022 at Horizons for Homeless Children in Boston. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced the grants with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Ed Markey, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, and Boston City Councilors Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia Mejia, and Kenzie Bok. Anne Douglass PhD, founder and executive director of the Early Ed Leadership Institute, Deb Johnston-Malden, M.S., Coordinator of the Metro Boston Professional Development Center at the Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation and Director of the new Early Childhood Fellowship program, and Tara L. Parker, PhD, Dean, College of Education and Human Development at UMass Boston attended the event.
