I was anxious about going back to school at my age. My Scholarship Counselor made me feel I could conquer the world and that I was never alone.
– Director, Eastern Missouri

Entry Associate Degree Scholarship

Entry Associate Degree Scholarship may best suit your needs if you are:

  • Seeking an introduction to the field of early childhood.
  • A director working towards Missouri state certification.
  • Needing early childhood college courses to meet employer mandates.

* This scholarship model can be taken once and supports early childhood coursework only.

Eligibility – All applicants must:

  • Have the desire to earn college credit towards an Associate degree (AA/AAS/AAT) in early childhood education.
  • Be at least 18 years old and have a high school or equivalency diploma.
  • Work directly with children birth to 5 years old daily in a licensed or license-exempt child care program.
  • Work directly with children at least 30 hours a week in a child care program.
  • Make under $26.00/hour.
  • Work in Missouri and be authorized to work in the U.S.

Once awarded a Entry Associate Degree Scholarship, you will:

  • Be assigned a T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI Scholarship Counselor who will assist throughout the entire process.
  • Enroll in the Missouri community college of your choice to earn 9 to 15 early childhood education college credit hours successfully within 3 consecutive semesters successfully passing all classes.
  • Pay only 10% of your tuition and books, e.g., for a $300 class, your 10% portion would be only $30! Your sponsoring employer pays a 15% co-pay.
  • Commit to staying at your sponsoring child care program for 6 consecutive months of continued employment at sponsoring child care program. Note: models vary.

T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI will:

  • Pay 75% – 90% of the tuition and books for your 9-15 early childhood college credit hours.
  • Pay you $450 (in two installments of $225) after you complete three semesters and 6 months of commitment time to your current child care program.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Missouri is a licensed program of Child Care Services Association.
The project described was supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDG B-5), Grant Number 90TP0048-01-00, from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.