Early Childhood Education Basic Program Guidelines Laura Ergle CTAE Program Specialist
Curriculum Writing Team Team of six individuals from secondary schools, post-secondary schools and industry wrote the new ECE curriculum.
Industry Validation Pathway must be deemed: High Wage and/or High Demand and/or High Skill
Courses Introduction to Early Childhood Care and Education* Human Growth & Development for Early Childhood* Health, Safety & Nutrition for the Young Child* Early Childhood Education Internship *Required courses for pathway completion.
Lab Hours 0-5Human Growth 5-30Introduction to ECE 5-30Health, Safety & Nutrition The range of lab hours is to accommodate programs with and without on-site labs, and to accommodate programs with large high school student enrollments.
General Information Each classroom must have an instructor – both the ECE high school classroom and the pre-k classroom. Many schools have a lottery funded pre-k program on site for lab experiences. Bright From the Start funds the pre-k teacher and often a parapro too. Bright From the Start can advise if your school could add a lottery funded program – it is based on need for your community.
General Information – con’t This program is different from the very old “Occupational Childcare Program” where students worked in the lab daily – and the classroom and lab were one in the same. The program must cover the GPS to ensure students are successful on end of pathway assessment.
General Information – con’t Schools may utilize an on-site or off-site lab for student experiences. Schools may receive industry certification whether they have an on-site or off-site lab. Industry certification grants are half for those schools without an on-site lab.
Equipment Lists Programs with off site labs must have a minimum of the following equipment: Computers, 12 (latest technology) - classroom Teacher Computer and Work Station, Printer - classroom, latest technology (prints, scans, and faxs, and develops and prints pictures Computer, Die-cut Machine and assorted dies:, upper/lower case alphabet, numbers, assorted shapes and sizes. Digital Camera & VHS & DVD Player LCD Projector - classroom & Projector Screen Paper Cutter – 24” & Paper Rola-rack and cutter Smart Board - Classroom Laminating Machine
Equipment – con’t On-site Lab Equipment list available at this link: 230&m=links&ft=Equipment%20Archives
Facilities Information concerning the layout and size of CTAE instructional labs is currently being revised. If you need immediate information for design or planning purposes, please contact Dr. Dennis Clarke at: or call
Textbooks Goodheart Wilcox: Working with Young Children Child Development: Early Stages Glencoe McGraw Hill: The Developing Child
Textbooks – con’t. Cengage Delmar Learning: Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Early Childhood Understanding Child Development Prentice Hall: Teaching Young Children Al About Child Care and Early Education Introduction to ECE Health, Safety & Nutrition for the Child
GECEF Georgia Early Childhood Education Foundation, GECEF, has been established to assist programs with industry certification, professional development and student activities and competitions.
Additional Questions Please contact Laura Ergle