Program encourages county child-care workers to pursue more education
Stipend acts as incentive to go back to school
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER- Christina Misko, a teacher's aide with First 5 Ventura County, reads stories to children at the Moorpark/Simi Valley Neighborhood for Learning Kindergarten Kickoff at the Berylwood Family Resource Center on Saturday afternoon. First 5 pays childcare workers like Misko for taking college courses in early childhood development.

Debbie Blumenthal credits a little-known stipend program for child-care professionals with helping her get through college.

The preschool director of Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks earned a bachelor's degree in childhood development earlier this year.

"It's been such a great program for me personally," Blumenthal said of the Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards (CARES) Project.

The program, sponsored by First 5 Ventura County, pays child-care workers for taking college courses in early childhood development on their way to obtaining a child development permit or bachelor's degree.

Officials for the program said more than 200 people from home- or center-based facilities throughout the county received a stipend ranging from $600 to $1,200 for college courses this year.

Research shows that a teacher's qualifications are important indicators of how well students perform in school, so helping people get more education helps students, said Jennifer Johnson, director of operations at First 5 Ventura County.

In addition, the stipend is an incentive for workers to improve their education in the child-care field, she said.

Last year, the first year of the three-year program, three people earned an associate degree and six a bachelor's degree, she said.

Results for the 2006-07 school year are still being calculated but are expected next month, Johnson said.

The program is entering its final year, and it's too early to know if the state commission, First 5 California, will continue the program beyond 2008, Johnson said.

Blumenthal's success with college and the program may have inspired others to sign up.

She said about eight people on her staff now participate in the project and attend college.

"As a preschool director, I think it's just the best thing for our program," Blumenthal said.

First 5 Ventura County is a public entity that uses Proposition 10 funds to promote early childhood development and health programs for children up to 5 years old and their families.

Voters passed Proposition 10- a cigarette tax- in 1998 to support these programs intended to help children succeed in school based on research that a child's brain develops more significantly in the first five years of life than at any other time.

For more information about the program, call Kirsti Smith at (805) 648-9989, ext. 228.