
The T.E.A.C.H. (Teacher Education and Compensation Helps) Early Childhood ® Scholarship Program is a licensed program of the Child Care Services Association. It is a national, evidence-based strategy that creates access to higher education for teachers, directors and family child-care providers (early educators) working with young children. T.E.A.C.H. provides comprehensive scholarships to enable educators to take coursework leading to credentials and degrees by making it possible for them to afford both the time and expense of going to school. At the same time, T.E.A.C.H. will help leverage the financial resources necessary to provide capacity in higher education to helping individuals attain their educational and career goals. T.E.A.C.H. is a change agent for the early care and education (ECE) workforce and system.The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood ® Arkansas Scholarship Program was developed to upgrade the level of education of teachers working with young children while making the educational process affordable, increasing wages and reducing turnover. With funds from the Arkansas Department of Human Services, the program is now in Arkansas and has had remarkable success. Teachers and their sponsoring centers overwhelmingly support the program in their evaluations. Teachers typically complete 4-17 credit hours per year and remain in their sponsoring centers, this reducing turnover.