Six years. That’s how long it took Colombian-born Teresa Calle-Streicker to earn her AA degree from City College of San Francisco. Juggling her responsibilities as a full-time nanny and single mom, Calle-Streicker says she “worked all day, then went to class until eight or nine at night, got home around 10:30, and woke up at 6:00 the next day to go to work again.”

In addition, she estimates that she did four hours of homework for each hour in class. Meanwhile, “I wanted to spend time with my daughter!”

Children’s languages and cultures

Many researchers agree there is a pressing need to support the professional development of teachers like Calle-Streicker, who know the languages and cultures of the children of immigrants.

Says Hedy Chang, author of Getting Ready for Quality, “When teachers know the culture and language, they are better equipped to establish a secure relationship with immigrant children, draw on what children know from their family and community, and use their own experience to help parents negotiate a new land.”

Diverse—at the bottom

The good news, according to a new report on the California early childhood workforce (see Important report on early childhood workforce), is this workforce is ethnically diverse. But, as the study also reports, this diversity is mainly at the bottom of the career ladder. For example, almost half of family child care providers and assistant teachers can communicate fluently in a language other than English, but only a quarter of directors can.

The challenge, says Marcy Whitebook, the study’s lead author, is “How do you maintain and extend this diversity to more leadership positions when you require people to meet higher educational goals?”

Immigrant caregivers’ education: Programs that work

Dual Language BA program

Colombian-born preschool teacher Teresa Calle-Streicker is now participating in the Dual Language BA program, a joint project of City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, and San Francisco Head Start. The program prepares ECE professionals to work with dual language learners—a key goal in a state where almost half the preschoolers are children of immigrants according to California Tomorrow.

The program provides:

• Peer support. That’s “so important,” says Calle-Streicker. “You don’t feel isolated. We help each other.”

• Bilingual teaching. Morning classes are in English, afternoon in Spanish.

• Academic support. Intensive math and other courses to help with academic stumbling-blocks.

• Financial help. “You don’t have to pay a penny” for the classes, says Calle-Streiker.

• Coordinating requirements, “to make sure that folks know from the very beginning what courses are required to transfer to a four-year college,” says Sharon Donovan, coordinator of the SF Early Childhood Professional Development Project.

Dual Language BA Program, Sharon Donovan, 415-452-5691

Foothill Square Early Head Start

Reyna Diaz de Zamora and Anh Nguyen, teachers at the Foothill Square Early Head Start program, earned their AAs while working full-time and raising families. Zamora began taking ESL and child development courses at nearby Merritt College five years ago, at the encouragement of her director. “Sometimes I feel like I can’t,” says Zamora, “but they said, ‘You have to try.’”

Nationally, Head Start’s goal is that half its teachers will have BA degrees by 2009 and the other half AAs by 2010.

In this program, Alameda First 5 pays the student’s tuition and Head Start gives her paid release time. For the required lab class, “Head Start gives her a flexible schedule so she can attend the class without losing income,” says Director Bobbie Carpenter.

Taking classes in English has been a challenge for Nguyen. “Teachers speak English very fast,” she says. “I take a tape recorder to class, then I listen and ask everybody to help—tutors, friends, classmates, my daughter.”

What keeps them going? “I am thinking like a mother,” says Zamora. “I want my kids to have high quality child care. For kids (in my class), I want to do my best.”

Foothill Square Early Head Start, Bobbie Carpenter, 510-553-9926

Child Care Professional Growth Program

In San Joaquin County, language is a barrier to education for many Spanish-speaking family child care providers. So the County Office of Education, with funding from state and local First 5, organized 15 of them into a “cohort” to study topics such as developmentally appropriate practices and computer skills. The group met once a week in the evening and on several Saturdays; participants earned three units of continuing education credit.

“These are folks are already providing great care to children,” says coordinator Valerie Denero. “We just want to help them do it a little better.”

Participants shared that goal. “I especially wanted to learn about how to treat children, especially since they each act differently,” one provider told an evaluator. “I liked having the opportunity to talk with the teacher about specific situations.  When I had a challenging situation, I couldn’t wait to ask the teacher for her feedback. I have tried to help children who were very challenging.”

Many said the course inspired them to make changes in their programs. One participant said, for example, “Before, I didn’t have as much paper and crayons and paint. I used to worry about the mess. Now I give them paper to color and write (because) I know the benefit of them practicing their coloring and writing.”

Next Denero plans to do follow-up interviews with the participants “to see what their next steps will be and try to connect them with community resources for additional ESL support.”

Child Care Professional Growth Program, Valerie Denero, 209-468-4808

Policy Directions

Immigrant child care providers’ experiences suggest policy directions for promoting a diverse and educated workforce:

1. More college classes in the languages spoken by caregivers.

2. Coordination of two- and four-year college programs, so students don’t have to repeat classes when they transfer.

3. More funds for tuition and books through the Child Development Training Consortium and other education support programs.

4. Funds for paid release time, so full-time workers don’t have to neglect their families and their health to take courses.

5. Courses offered at convenient times and locations for working adults.

6. Cohort programs, pre-academic preparation, and other supports to help nontraditional students succeed.

7. More courses in dual-language learning, so caregivers can work more effectively with children from immigrant families.

8. More support for transfer of foreign credentials, so immigrant teachers can get credit for their education.