ECCLA’s Back to Work: Early Childhood Education Scholarship is a unique program that supports early childhood professionals who experienced an economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and want to earn undergraduate-level degrees and certificates.
Through the Back to Work Grant, ECCLA is proud to partner with the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s COSI Scholarship Program to help provide the education and training you need for your next job in the Early Childhood profession! The Colorado Recovery Plan expands the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) grant to support Coloradans that have experienced an economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic or suffered another form of economic loss. For more information about the Back to Work Scholarship, keep reading or download the Informational Flyer in English or Spanish.
The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) is an equal opportunity scholarship provider. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, military status, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in any of its activities or operations. Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students are welcome to apply!
In the 2019 Colorado Shines Brighter (Colorado’s Preschool Development Grant) Needs Assessment, one of the top priorities for the state was to “Continue Investing in Quality-Enhancing Professional Development Opportunities and Workforce Recruitment and Retention Across the Early Care and Education Landscape” and to “Continue to Develop a Diverse Early Childhood Workforce.” A potential avenue for the advancement, retention, and recruitment of early childhood professionals is through free and accessible professional development opportunities, including coaching. Increasing access to coaching provides opportunities for professionals to have more individualized access to knowledge specific to their individual needs and career supports. To make this opportunity possible, there needs to be credentialed coaches to meet the needs of the early childhood professionals.
Studies have shown coaching to be one of the most effective ways to support adult educators in learning new knowledge and skills (Joyce & Showers, 2002).
In partnership with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), the Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) is offering a scholarship opportunity for early childhood professionals seeking an Early Childhood Coaching Credential. Applicants may choose between several CDEC-approved coaching programs. The coaching credential course will take three months to complete and is delivered virtually with a live instructor.
Participants must meet the following criteria and be enrolled in a coaching credential program by June 2023:
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood provides Relationship-Based Professional Development (RBPD) virtually to communities across the state at no cost to participants. This coaching-specific training meets the training requirement for the Colorado Coaching Credential. Topics covered include: characteristics of coaching in early childhood settings, working with adult learners, coaching skills, reflective practice and tools to support the coach and coaching partner in continuous quality improvement. To receive a certificate of completion for RBPD, participants must complete the 35-hour hybrid training including attending the live instructor-led sessions and engaging in self-paced, online assignments. Click HERE to be added to the RBPD Waitlist.
The Coaching Certificate Program supports the development of a coaching mindset grounded in the understanding of equity, behavioral sciences, and systemic educational practices. Each Cohort engages in shared learning and reflective dialogue as they examine, analyze and refine their coaching competencies. Due to this Program being offered remotely through Zoom, participants bring an incredible diversity of cultures, languages, geographical locations, and thinking from all over the United States, a core element of our group learning process.
Summer 2023 Cohort #20 begins May 11th. Required orientation is on April 26th.
The three-course certificate will provide you with foundational coaching skills and practices, peer connections, reflection, self-awareness, and systems thinking. Strong coaching relationships will help you achieve positive results with coworkers, networks, and children in your care. The unique cohort model used in this coaching certificate program inspires equity, diversity and inclusion as the group creates collective accountability in co-learning.
Course Details: ECED 4410/5410 - Coaching Early Childhood Professionals: Foundations
Dates: Classes take place virtually on every other Tuesday from 5:00pm- 7:30 pm MST beginning January 14th to May 13, 2023
The Transformational Coaching Course offers coaches, professional development speThe Transformational Coaching Course offers coaches, professional development specialists, mentors and leaders ‘principles to practice’ on how to effectively facilitate change, to broaden and deepen professional practices of educators or administrators, and intentionally support sustainable habits of reflection, problem solving and lifelong learning. This course is based on Constant Hine’s book Transformational Coaching for Early Childhood Educators (2019 RedLeaf Press). This course format is designed to be delivered in 11 virtual live sessions. Each session is 3.5 hours.
Dates: June 14, 2023 - August 11, 2023
Students must register through the Horizons in Learning registration page AND on PDIS. Deadline to enroll for the Summer cohort is May 24, 2023.
The Pyramid Facilitator is an intentional development pathway designed to support professionals in their efforts to improve and support the capacity of state systems and local programs to implement the Pyramid Model, an early childhood multi-tiered system of support to improve the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of young children, birth to five years of age. The Pyramid Facilitator Certification prepares you to deliver Pyramid Model training, utilize observation tools, provide coaching on Pyramid practices, support Program-Wide Leadership Teams, and build relationships with other Pyramid practitioners across the state. And, to support our states overall coaching capacity, completing Pyramid Facilitator Certification is a specific pathway meeting all of your needs to apply for a Coach Credential in Colorado’s Professional Development Information System (PDIS).
The ten-month program runs from September to June each year and includes opportunities for you to learn and practice strategies to effectively facilitate Pyramid training and coaching as well as utilize reliable observation tools. For more information, read the Pyramid Facilitator Certification: Key Information document.
2023 Pyramid Facilitator Certification - You are welcome to join an upcoming Information Session to learn more about the Pyramid Facilitator Certification and have an opportunity to ask questions to our team. Register for the Information Session Webinar, May 1, 2023, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm.
Application & Selection
Mentoring is helping people to develop more effectively. It is a relationship designed to build confidence and support the mentoring partner so they are able to take control of their own development and work. Mentoring is listening and asking questions that will challenge the mentoring partner to identify the course of action they need to take in regards to their own development.
The goal of this program is to ramp up personal and professional skills with peer mentoring strategies. Classes meet remotely via Zoom on Tuesday evening and will include engaging discussions and practical applications to use in the workplace with peers, co-workers, and families.
Course Details: EDU 2251Intro to Relationship-Based Mentoring AND EDU 2255 Intro to Relationship-Based Mentoring Techniques
Students must apply for admissions at Red Rocks CC before enrolling in courses.
Contact sarah@ecclacolorado.org for questions regarding the EC Coach Credential Scholarship Program
The majority of Colorado children are cared for in home environments. According to a 2015 report by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, between 2011 to 2015 the number of licensed family child care home programs decreased by 15%. There are many reasons for this decrease, including a stronger economy with better paying jobs available and increasing child care regulations or local regulations that provide challenges the opening of family child care homes (e.g. adoption of the universal building codes by cities and towns).
To address the declining number of licensed slots within family child care home programs and to improve quality within home-based learning environments, the Buell Foundation, along with the Daniels Fund, granted funds to the Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) to provide facility improvement funding to family child care home providers. This opportunity is intended to help family child care home providers start up, expand, or maintain consistent operations, increase capacity and reduce the number of family child care homes closing their doors due to financial restrictions.
The funding priorities for the Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Grant Include:
This funding opportunity is not intended to support the loss of revenue due to COVID-19 or other COVID-19 related costs. If you have questions regarding your request, please contact Shannon Hall.
During each application round, ECCLA will host two optional technical assistance webinars to provide information and answer questions about the Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Grant. The webinars will be recorded and posted on the ECCLA website. To learn more, register for a webinar or listen to a recording, please visit our website www.ecclacolorado.org/fcchgrant
If you have questions about the Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Grant, please read our Frequently Asked Questions. You may also contact Shannon Hall, Director of Workforce Supports.
The Rural Reskilling, Upskilling, Next-skilling (R.U.N.) Scholarship Program provides career counseling and tuition support to early childhood professionals in rural communities seeking to reskill, upskill, or next-skill. Wondering what these terms mean? Keep reading to learn more!
On June 23, 2021, Colorado House Bill 21-1264 was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis. The bill appropriated $75 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan through the SLFRF program to support talent development. This Bill created the stimulus investments in reskilling, upskilling, and next-skilling workers program as an initiative of the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to facilitate training for unemployed and underemployed workers in the state during times of substantial unemployment. This Bill appropriated funds and directed the CWDC to use these funds to support individuals in need of:
The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) is an equal opportunity scholarship provider. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, military status, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in any of its activities or operations. Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students are welcome to apply!
Participants must meet the following criteria:
Your online application will be submitted using SSL encryption which ensures your application information is 100% secure
The Rural R.U.N. Scholarship Program works with several early childhood credential programs:
Participants will receive a one-time scholarship award applicable towards the cost of their credential. Additionally, participants are offered the following supports:
Early childhood professionals who have higher education have been shown to have a better understanding of child development and to be more responsive to the educational and academic needs of young children.
The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Colorado Scholarship Program offers early childhood professionals a pathway to pursue higher education. Access to scholarships for early childhood education is a critical piece to a successful professional development pathway.
We are affiliated with the national Teacher Education and Compensation Helps Early Childhood® initiative of the Child Care Services Association, and we hold the state license to offer scholarships in Colorado.
The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) is an equal opportunity scholarship provider. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, military status, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in any of its activities or operations. Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students are welcome to apply!
Early childhood education professionals including directors, teachers, and family child care providers who meet the following criteria are eligible to apply.
*Exceptions may be made for programs that do not operate on a full day schedule
**Exceptions may be made for rural resort counties
The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Colorado Scholarship Program offers different models that are tailored to early childhood workforce needs across the state. These models will use the same scholarship application, but you will need the corresponding model's Center Participation Agreement. Please ensure you are filling out the correct forms. For assistance, please contact Dallas Brown or Shannon Hall
For current T.E.A.C.H. recipients renewing their T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship under the same model they are currently on, please click here to complete the Renewal Application. Once the application is completed, please email to Shannon Hall.
For current T.E.A.C.H. recipients renewing their T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship under a different model, please complete a new application by clicking below.
⇒ If you are having problems getting employer support for our traditional scholarship models, please reachout to Shannon Hall or Dallas Brown to explore other offers that may be available to you.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Colorado is a licensed program of Child Care Services Association
Before you apply, gather the following documents: Proof of Admission to College, Unofficial Transcripts, Verification of FAFSA/CASFA, Current Paystub, Center Participation Agreement, Center Profile, PDIS Registration Verification.
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Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance
Wheat Ridge, Colorado
720.588.2840
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