What is it?
The Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) early childhood scholarship program offers a variety of different educational scholarship programs for early education professionals in 24 states. The purpose of T.E.A.C.H. scholarships is to encourage and support early education professionals to pursue higher education and professional development opportunities. T.E.A.C.H. scholarships have four components: scholarship, education, compensation, and commitment. Typical scholarships provide support for in-state tuition, books, travel, and release time.
What is the evidence base?
T.E.A.C.H. increases the pipeline of early childhood educators, reduces turnover, increases the education levels of the workforce, and increases staff compensation. Additionally, T.E.A.C.H. supports supports diversity and equity of access to higher education by providing an opportunity for those who have been historically excluded from an education. In 2020-2021, 50 percent of T.E.A.C.H. participants were educators of color. T.E.A.C.H. and Child Care WAGE$ increase the average annual wage for participants working on their associate’s degree by eight percent and nine percent for those working on their bachelor’s degree. Both programs also supports retention; site-based retention for associate degree participants was 95 percent and bachelor’s degree participants was 97 percent.
