“GoTeach” - A Collaborative Success Story

The Program of Practice

Sierra County Schools for Adults (SCSA) was founded in January of 2019 in the rural Sierra Mountain town of Loyalton. Our school is, and will continue to be, centered around the needs of our community. Excellent quality childcare and early education is always an area of high need in small rural communities and ours was no exception.

The Response

Shelley Miller of Feather River College, our partner in the consortium, created a program called GoTeach, as a “no credit” support course for people entering the Early Childhood Education (ECE) field, which was very successful in Plumas County. With her blessing we took her program and modified it to meet the needs of our ECE programs in Sierra County.

SCSA created a collaboration with First 5 and Sierra Nevada Children’s Services (SNCS) to address the needs for improving the education qualifications and teaching of our preschool children. We have two licensed centers in Loyalton and one of them was constantly struggling with having enough staff that was certified to work with the kiddos and maintaining consistency with staffing numbers.

After several meetings with First 5 and SNCS representatives we created a modified GoTeach program to meet the needs of our subsidized ECE program on the Loyalton elementary school site. We created a two-tier system of coaching and mentoring: individuals new to the career of ECE and those that had been in the field but lacked the education required to be a certified ECE teacher; and those with units that would coach the less experienced staff and continue their own education.

The Unique Features of the Program

Each partner provides a different level of support for this program. First 5 offers a variety of ECE training opportunities and teaching manipulatives. They also provide stipends for some of the trainings they offer. SNCS provides stipends to assist with paying for the college courses and SCSA provides stipends for the coaches of all of the participants. The coaches provide support through college courses as well as at the school site. Coaches help the participants work through difficult situations that occur in the classroom as well as with helping parents with their child’s education.

The Outcome

This additional support for the staff at Toddler Towers has made it possible for all of the staff currently employed to obtain the required education to be appropriately certificated in their positions. Prior to the implementation of GoTeach, this ECE site struggled with remaining in compliance for certificated staff, as well as staff retention. The consistency that is now present in this program is reflected in the higher learning levels of the children progressing into the internal TK program and Kinder programs at the local school. Staff have also received a substantial pay increase making the site a more competitive employer locally.

Finally, we are able to now offer internships at this site for individuals that are interested in pursuing a career in the Early Childhood Education field. They receive the support necessary to truly evaluate whether this is the career choice for them.