SVP Makes Investment for Early Childhood Workforce Training
We’re incredibly pleased to announce our new partnership with the Early Childhood Funders Learning Circle (ECFLC) and their program, the Early Childhood Workforce Development Initiative. We’ve undertaken a 3-year investment of $75,000 ($25,000/year) in order to ensure that there are an adequate number of Master Trainers from communities of color, linguistically diverse communities, and rural Oregon. “Master Trainers” will be culturally relevant and/or rural-based trainers to provide all levels of training for early childhood care and education providers for underserved families. The goal is to develop a strong and regular pipeline of trainers through the creation of a cohort of mentors who will work with trainers to develop their skills and achieve the certification. This will allow providers in culturally-specific communities and rural Oregon to access appropriate training and improve the quality of care and education provided.
Why is the work important?
Oregon’s early learning system leaders are paying more attention than ever to the needs of the early learning workforce. Child care providers, preschool teachers, family advocates and home visitors are increasingly recognized for their professionalism. Training for the workforce is viewed as critically important to the care and education of our children. Despite that, the training needs of important groups of providers have been ignored or marginally addressed: providers of color, providers who speak diverse languages and providers in rural Oregon. The ECFLC recognizes that disparity, and is addressing with those impacted communities to address specific gaps. By investing in the development and support of trainers of color, rural trainers, and linguistically diverse trainers, we (as a co-Investment fund) hope to address and serve the African American, Latino, Chinese, Vietnamese, Native American, Russian and immigrant communities; rural communities, and communities whose primary language isn’t English. These objectives are directly in line with our Readiness for Kindergarten goal and our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. In order to have the deepest impact across the Ready for Kindergarten space, we focus on priority populations with the greatest need, including children living in poverty, children of color, and children who are English language learners. We’re thrilled to take on a co-investment that will reinforce our dedication to serving marginalized communities in Oregon, and we’re looking forward to hitting the ground running with ECFLC.