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Early Childhood Education

School of Integrated Studies
Klump Academic Center, Rm. 102 · (570) 327-4521
EC student and child playing with puppets

The Early Childhood Education major at Pennsylvania College of Technology prepares students for a career working with children. Students work with children from birth through age eight in childcare centers, Head Start, family and group day care homes, and early intervention programs.

According to the U.S. government’s Occupational Outlook Handbook,

“Employment of childcare workers is projected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2012. The proportion of youngsters enrolled full or part time in childcare and preschool programs is likely to continue to increase, spurring demand for additional childcare workers."

An increased appreciation for the importance of the early years for brain development and future educational success has led to an increased demand for staff with college degrees in early childhood education. The Head Start program, for example, now requires its teachers to earn an associate's degree in Early Childhood Education.

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Early Childhood Education News

Dual-Enrolled Student Among SkillsUSA Gold Medalists

May 2008

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Among high school students who earned gold medals in the recent SkillsUSA Pennsylvania Leadership and Skills Conference was Lycoming Career and Technology Center senior Jordan Hill, who is also enrolled in early childhood education courses at Penn College. Hill’s gold-medal finish in the Preschool Teaching Assistant category advances her to nationals, scheduled for June 22-28 in Kansas City, Mo. She is competing as part of Lycoming Career and Technology Center’s SkillsUSA team.

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Practicum Banquet Honors Early Childhood Students, Supervisors

April 2008

Early childhood education students who participated in practicum semesters, with early childhood faculty Food line Early childhood education majors who are completing their practicum semesters in community schools and agencies, along with their supervising teachers, were honored with a “Practicum Banquet” in the Professional Development Center on April 16. The dinner was held to honor the students, who graduated in December or will be graduating this semester, and to express appreciation to the teachers who have supervised their experiences at area Head Starts, local child-care centers and a public school. Three of the practicum-supervising teachers are Penn College graduates.

College Staff Members Present at National Conference

March 2008

Two staff members from Penn College presented a workshop at the annual conference of the National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers. Karen Woland Payne, director of the Children’s Learning Center at Penn College, and Barbara J. Albert, an early childhood education program specialist, presented a session titled “Two Accreditations!” at the conference, held March 6-8 in Bethesda, Md.

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Students, Faculty Take Part in Elementary 'Math and Science Night'

February 2008

Early childhood students Natashya Sassano and Misty Aikey assist children with magnet races Christy Passaretti, another early childhood education major, asks a child to guess how many cookies will fit on a tray Tim E. Weston, assistant professor of plastics technology, draws an interested crowd as he demonstrates plastic molding Electronics students Jeremiah Mechler and Angel Padillo III demonstrated a robot for the youngsters The Early Educators presented activities at the Cochran Elementary School's "Math and Science Night" on Thursday night, joined by students and faculty from the electronics and plastics programs in the School of Industrial and Engineering Technologies.
( Photos by Barbara J. Albert, program specialist, early childhood education)

Grant Assists Penn College Students With Child-Care Costs

November 2007

Penn College’s Children’s Learning Center has received continued funding to help provide child-care access to its students as part of a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The funding comes from the department’s Office of Higher Education, specifically for helping to make high-quality child care available to parents who are college students. Penn College received $55,909 through the competitive grant process, to be used between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2008 – the third year of the four-year grant.

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