Worrying about paying tuition and books prevented me from enrolling in college. T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI brought me ease and relief. This has kept me focused on my goals with encouragement and support taking so much pressure off me.
– Lead Teacher, East Central Missouri”
Now accepting scholarship applications for the Spring 2025 semester. Get your applications in today!
T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI
With T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI scholarships, you will advance your education almost debt-free with a dedicated scholarship counselor who will be alongside you every step of the way. Advance your early childhood career and build your confidence as you gain the ability to make a greater impact in the lives of the children who trust you.
The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Missouri Scholarship supports the early childhood care and education workforce across Missouri to earn national credentials and college credit-based education while increasing compensation and retention. Scholarship models are designed to assist child care teachers, assistant teachers, directors, assistant directors, family child care business owners, child care program owners, and home visitors attain their educational goals.
T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI awards scholarships for college hours to enhance classroom practice, the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and college degrees in early childhood education. As a result, Missouri’s youngest children receive high quality and consistent education from highly qualified early childhood professionals. Child Care Aware® of Missouri has been awarding T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI scholarships since 2000.
What is T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI?
We provide educational access to early childhood care and education professionals to assist in establishing a well-qualified, fairly compensated and stable workforce for Missouri’s youngest children.
How can T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI help you?
T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI pays for a significant portion of the costs related to pursuing an education – tuition and books – while providing added support through paid time off to study, an accessibility stipend and a contract completion bonus. Most scholarships are based on cost-sharing between the recipient, sponsoring employer and T.E.A.C.H.
Who benefits from T.E.A.C.H MISSOURI?
Children benefit from lasting relationships with consistent early childhood care and education professionals committed and retained in the field. Missouri’s youngest children are best educated by those who have a strong base knowledge of child development and can apply what they learn in the classroom while caring for and preparing our children for kindergarten.
Scholarship Recipients (lead teachers, assistants, directors, owners and family child care business owners) increase their knowledge base and skill level while receiving increased compensation for completion of courses and support and career advising by a scholarship counselor. As a result, career advancement, increased confidence and job satisfaction are attained.
Child care programs (sponsoring employers) gain knowledgeable staff who apply high quality early childhood practices to the children and families they serve. Programs also experience reduced staff turnover, helping to improve quality and marketability while using the scholarship as a recruitment and advertising tool to the benefit of the facility.
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.
