Meeting & Agendas

The new student members to the advisory board were introduced: April Acosta, Lynne Kirby, Fatimat Mobga, and Lisa Wilkerson

The ACC AAS in Child Development was awarded accreditation by NAEYC’s Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation (ECADA). A copy of the report was provided to the advisory board members. The certificate was displayed and a celebratory cake provided. The program’s Conceptual Framework was reviewed by the Advisory Board. Larry Elsner commented that one of the Department’s roles is to professionalize the early childhood workforce. It was further stated that we should emphasize early childhood as a career. These ideas will be incorporated into the conceptual framework under “Beliefs that guide our role in the community.” No other changes to the conceptual framework were suggested. The new requirements for the ECADA were shared with the committee: Standard 4 is divided into to standards – one emphasizing pedagogy and other emphasizing early childhood content. There are new requirements around fieldwork. Students will need to observe and practice in two different settings (Child care or family home, early school or Head Start) and with two different age groups (birth to 3, 3-5, or 5-8). The department will need to have processes in place by Fall 2013 to address these new standards. The advisory committee was given a report on progress toward some of the improvement goals embedded in the ECADA process, including development of an observation continuum to increase students’ observations skills and improved student advising. Preliminary results of a student focus group were shared. Key findings for African American students include challenges with distance to classes, lack of child care for older students, lack of courses near home/work in North Travis and Williamson Counties. Issues for all student included advising, enrollment processes, course sequences, and lack of offerings at other campuses. The students reported very positive relationships with the child development faculty and felt supported in their efforts. Dawn Leach reported on the status of the Lab School’s NAEYC accreditation. They have submitted their self-study and are awaiting a visit which can happen anytime between now and February 2013.

An overview of program statistics, including enrollment trends, graduates, and Teacher TRAC participation were provided. Enrollment trends have been slightly down, but were up this fall from last. For Fall 2011 – Summer 2012, 51 Marketable Skills Awards for completing the Comprehensive CDA, 17 Child Development Certificates, and 9 AAS in Child Development were awarded. The Certificates and AAS awards were slightly higher, but the Marketable Skills were significantly down. This is due to lower enrollments in the comprehensive CDA. More students in Teacher TRAC are in the Child Development Certificate and the AAS degree plans than previously. The Advisory Committee asked about the number of students who move from the CDA to the Certificate. This information will be provided at the next Advisory meeting. The Advisory Committee recommended marketing the Child Development Certificate for current early childhood teachers who have a bachelor’s degree other fields in order to meet the 36 hours of child development training required to meet NAEYC Accreditation. Because of increased enrollments in the practicum courses (28 students enrolled in Practicum I and 15 students in Practicum II for the spring), the department has reached out to community sites for fieldwork. Previously, it has just been observation, but this spring, the Department is piloting use of other sites for Practicum. The teachers will need to be in a NAEYC accredited program and have at least an AAS in child development. Training will be provided. Patsy McCreary reported on some upcoming changes to national CDA credentialing process. The key change is the new process for verification using a Review, Observe, and Reflect (ROR) model in which the CDA Professional Development Specialist does a classroom observation and reflective dialogue with the student. Another change is that the training hours can occur anytime before application rather than within the last five years.

The Child Development Program requested that the advisory committee consider adding the CDA Preparatory Class (CDEC 1241) to the Academic CDA degree plan. There was an extensive discussion about this plan. Dorado Kinney moved that the CDA Preparatory Class (CDEC 1241) be added to the Academic CDA Institutional Certificate and that CDEC 1241 prerequisites be modified to read: “Student taking CDEC 1241 should have completed or be enrolled in at least three of the other courses required for the Academic CDA.” This will allow students to complete the Academic CDA in one semester if the student is attending full-time. Marti Burris seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The Department will now present these recommendations to the curriculum committee for approval.

An overview of ACC’s new Academic Master Plan was provided. The Advisory Committee brainstormed the department’s key strengths and needs and challenges. This information will be used by the faculty to complete this year’s master plan.