Proposed Statewide Strategy Compensation and Retention Incentives-Public Comment Requested

First Things First Goals Addressed

Research and Development Process

Background

What Other States Have Established

Gaps in the Early Care and Education Professional Development System Infrastructure

Proposed Strategy to Address in the Early Care and Education Professional Development System Infrastructure

Sources

Sample Incentive Tiers

In March 2008, a set of statewide strategies to address First Things First goals were recommended to the Board.  During that meeting, the Board approved the funding of T.E.A.C.H. (Teacher Education and Compensation Helps), a scholarship program designed to build the educational levels and skills of the early childhood workforce.

Currently, the early care and education workforce typically receives compensation below what is considered a livable wage. The median hourly salary of Arizona early care and education teachers is $9.75 or $20,280 annually as reported in “A Decade of Data: The Compensation and Credentials of Arizona’s Early Care and Education Workforce” (2008); the Federal poverty level is $21, 200 for a family of four. Low wages present barriers to encouraging high-quality, well-educated, and well-trained personnel to enter the field. Additionally, lack of appropriate compensation causes a high rate of turnover among early childhood professions. In turn, young children receive lower quality care in environments where caregivers often change.

To address gaps in the Quality and Professional Development areas, several of the Regional Partnership Councils have indicated that they wish to fund an early care and education wage enhancement strategy in the first year of their funding plans. Wage enhancement models used by most other states initiate first level enhancements when a teacher completes just six credit hours of college coursework. In Arizona today, many early childhood professionals would qualify for such an enhancement based on the entry level point for awards. Additionally, since T.E.A.C.H. scholarships are such an integral part of our Quality First! system, and many regions appear to be supporting both Quality First! expansions as well as additional T.E.A.C.H. Scholarships in their initial proposals, it is important to assure that a wage enhancement system will be ready for regions that wish to distribute compensation incentives for highly qualified teachers as well as teachers who will complete that first level of education. It is anticipated that this could potentially occur for some T.E.A.C.H. participants as early as summer 2009.

After reviewing the documents, you may wish to provide feedback to First Things First. Here are questions that might help to guide your response:

What is your overall impression of the proposal to fund the establishment of an administrative infrastructure to administer the salary and retention incentives?

Is the role of the administrative home (and the involvement of RPCs) clear and understandable?

What changes or additions would you make in the financial incentives to individuals for attaining progressively more education and for remaining at their ECE programs?

Center Directors and Assistant Directors, as well as Teachers, Assistant Teachers and Family Child Care Providers would be eligible to participate.  Would adaptations need to be made for any of these populations, and if so, what adaptations should be made?

Yes, I would like to comment.