At the 2025 Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Summit, Early Education Leaders presented early findings from a study of the Early Childhood Fellowship (EC Fellowship) — an innovative, equity-driven program that is redefining what’s possible in early childhood workforce development. 

The research, summarized on a poster titled “Supporting Bachelor’s Degree Completion for Early Educators: The Early Childhood Fellowship Model,” highlighted how the program is successfully addressing critical workforce needs in Boston by creating pathways for racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse early educators to complete their bachelor’s degrees.

Housed within UMass Boston’s early education BA program — which serves 300 students annually and has established itself as a leader in recruiting, retaining, and graduating racially and linguistically diverse early childhood educators — the EC Fellowship addresses critical barriers that often prevent early educators from completing their degrees. Its comprehensive support model includes four key components:

• Tuition coverage and stipends to ensure Fellows can earn their degree without accumulating debt
• Personalized tutoring, coaching, and academic support
• Regular mentoring and a learning community network
• Leadership development opportunities and an alumni network

Eleven EC Fellows participating in the study have graduated, with most advancing into lead and supervisory teaching roles. EC Fellows are achieving strong academic outcomes, with an average GPA of 3.25.

“These early results reinforce the Early Childhood Fellowship’s value as a workforce development model that recognizes and builds on the existing strengths of educators,” said Anne Douglass, PhD, executive director of Early Education Leaders. “Our findings also show that the EC Fellowship offers a potential roadmap for scaling similar models across Massachusetts—and beyond.” 

Most EC Fellows (85%) are employed in various early childhood education settings, with 36% working as classroom teachers, 28% as paraprofessionals or assistant teachers, and 17% as family child care providers. Nearly half speak a primary language other than English, and the average age of participants is 37—highlighting the program’s reach among adult learners.

EC Fellows report that the EC Fellowship aligns with their deep personal and professional goals, which include:

• Being motivated to serve children with special needs, multilingual families, and historically underserved communities
• Pursuing degrees out of a deep passion for teaching driven by purpose
• Planning to open their own family child care businesses
• Focusing on infant and toddler education, addressing a critical workforce gap

EC Fellows represent the rich diversity of Boston’s communities:

• 47% identify as Hispanic/Latino
• 30% identify as Black or African American
• 15% identify as White
• 5% identify as Asian
• 3% identify as two or more races

Research presented at the summit underscores the need for policies that:

• Sustain and expand debt-free pathways to degree completion
• Incentivize credit for prior learning and experience
• Encourage articulation agreements across institutions
• Embed culturally and linguistically responsive practices in higher education

The Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Summit was held Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at Wellesley College. It was an invite-only gathering of researchers, designers, and policymakers from across the state. The convening highlighted opportunities for collaboration aligned with two new statewide research agendas and the launch of the state Department of Early Education and Care’s data dashboards and E2C data hub.

The EC Fellowship launched in 2014 with support from the Office of Indian Education at the US Department of Education. EC Fellows committed to working with Native American children in tribal- and community-based ECE settings. In 2022, it expanded with funding from the City of Boston to cultivate a pipeline of trained, high-quality educators in Boston and affirm the leadership potential that already exists within the early education workforce. Early Childhood Fellows admitted since 2022 commit to working in the city of Boston for at least three years after graduating, ensuring that Boston children and families benefit from the city’s investment in the program. 

The findings presented at the Early Childhood Policy Research Summit were from a study of the EC Fellowship that will run through 2027. The study is looking at the performance of students admitted in 2023 and 2024 and will track how and whether the EC Fellowship’s key components are supporting the EC Fellows academically from admittance through graduation and strengthening their teaching practice. As the program continues to grow, Early Education Leaders will track long-term outcomes, including how graduates impact the quality of early education in Boston and their leadership roles within the field.

For more information about the Early Childhood Fellowship, please contact Kori Lantas at Kori.Lantas@umb.edu.