Men and women interested in nurturing the next generation by working in childcare will have the opportunity to advance both their education and their career prospects by earning an associate’s degree in early childhood education at the Metropolitan School of Professional Studies.
The Metropolitan School will start offering the Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education in this fall. The degree is designed to enable students to satisfy the District of Columbia’s new requirements for training for childcare providers.
“Through our program, students will learn how to provide outstanding care and educational support to young children,” said Dr. Vincent Kiernan, Dean of the Metropolitan School of Professional Studies. “Our graduates will enjoy stimulating careers and will contribute to the development of a new generation of well rounded, productive residents of the District.”
The Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education degree is designed to meet the educational requirements set by the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education for both teachers in childcare centers and expanded home caregivers. By December 2023, in the District of Columbia these professionals will be required to hold an associate’s degree in early childhood education or any associate degree with at least 24 semester credit hours in early childhood.
The Metropolitan School’s associate degree program is designed for students with little or no previous higher education. Students in the associate program will be able to complete the degree in three years of part-time study or two years of fll-tie study. Courses will be offered in the evenings at Catholic University’s campus. The program has also been designed to enable associate graduates, if they choose, to seamlessly continue their education by earning a bachelor’s degree in education offered by the university’s Department of Education.
The curriculum has been developed to meet the needs of adults working in various early childhood settings, including both public and private day care homes, child development centers, kindergartens, Head Start, and pre-school and school-age care programs.