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 TEACH 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.
TEACH 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.
View Entry Associate Scholarship Model:
TEACH Early Childhood® Missouri is a licensed program of the Early Years.
Current funding is a statewide quality initiative through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Office of Childhood, Contract CS250431001.
