Allen Community College is taking steps to grow its early childhood education program.
At the behest of Beth Toland, who has been in charge of the program since 2009, trustees voted Tuesday to add a program advocate for early childhood education starting in the spring.
The new position will assist in marketing early childhood education programs, continuing and supporting industry partnerships, and assisting students in applying at Allen.
The program is tailored for students for careers in working with young children.
Toland said she visited extensively with new college president Bruce Moses shortly after Moses was hired at Allen. It was there, Toland said, that Moses challenged her to find ways to grow the program, particularly in the northern tiers of Allen’s service area, such as around Topeka.
What Toland found was potential growth for providers dealing with the Hispanic population.
“In a time where we do not have enough support staff in K-12 or enough teachers in child care, we know a significant portion of our workforce is being shut out of jobs because they cannot access training and education needed to advance in the field,” Toland told ACC trustees. “Allen can open those doors for employees and new child care providers.”
But with 180 students in the program already, Toland noted she is stretched thin when it comes to seeing those numbers grow.
“I don’t have the manpower to do this,” she said. “In order to grow this program, we have to have this person.”
The cost of hiring a new employee will be paid for through higher enrollment numbers, Toland predicted. Even better, because ECE programs are considered technical training, Allen will receive additional Perkins Grant funding.
The new staffer would be bilingual.
“When you look at the program student demographics, you can clearly see Allen excels at educating working students in our early childhood education,” Toland continued. “We have a significant portion of our service area that would benefit from this opportunity.
“We have a disproportionate number of students, sitting out there in our system who need help,” she said. “They don’t understand where to get their high school transcripts. They don’t understand how to improve their citizenship. They look at this paperwork, and it’s cumbersome, so they just ignore it and go along with life.”
That’s where much of Toland’s success has come from, she added.
“I’ve worked with them on financial aid and figuring out the ins and outs.”
Moses and Trustee Lonnie Larson echoed Toland’s wish for the new position.
“I’m 100% on board with this,” Moses said. “The work is well thought out and very strategic.”
