Haverhill, MA (October 25, 2022) — Dean of Business and Professional Studies Jody Carson will be sharing an innovative new degree option at Northern Essex Community College with a national audience. She, along with a panel that includes several other leaders from Massachusetts in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) field, will explore a range of strategies to build and support career pathways for the ECE workforce during a webinar hosted by the Office of the Administration for Children & Families, under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dean of Business and Professional Studies Jody Carson

Northern Essex is the first public school in the country to offer an ECE degree that can be completed using all competency-based education (CBE) courses. CBE addresses the needs of adults and other non-traditional learners, allowing them increased flexibility to start and complete courses online at their own pace. Many might already be working in the fields they are studying. CBE allows those students to demonstrate what they already know and accelerate through their coursework, then take more time when they are less familiar with the content or life gets busy. “Someone might be working at a childcare center and already know a lot about planning curriculum but might be less familiar with assessing and documenting development, for example,” says Carson.  “CBE would allow them to progress quickly through those courses where they already have a good grasp on the subject matter.”

Because all the courses are available online, the CBE ECE degree program can be completed from anywhere. Even a required 330-hour in-classroom practicum can be completed by the supervising college faculty member virtually.

The webinar Building a Pipeline of Qualified Early Childhood Educators Through Innovative Career Pathway Efforts is Wednesday, October 26 from 2:30-4pm. Register here for the link.

Other panelists from Massachusetts include:

·       Winnie Hagan, Senior Associate Commissioner for Strategic Planning and Public Program Approval, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education

·       Jennifer Schein, Education Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care

·       Sarah Volkenant, Senior Professional Development Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care

Early Childhood Education students at Northern Essex

Learn more about the ECE CBE degree program at NECC by visiting the webpage. View general information about Early Childhood Education at Northern Essex here.