The Early Childhood Education degree places emphasis on the needs of children from birth to grade 2 in urban districts. Balance your rigorous course load with on-the-ground experiences in classrooms and you’ll graduate ready to be a New York State-certified teacher.
Learn from a faculty of educators, teacher trainers, active and retired teachers, superintendents, and education directors
Gain practical, hands-on skills
One-on-one teaching helps you grasp the unique developmental and linguistic needs of early childhood learners
Specific scholarship opportunities exist for ECE majors
Teaching Professions Scholarship
The Teaching Professions Scholarship, funded by the New York State Education Department Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC II), allows Monroe College to offer qualified, diverse candidates the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education with no out-of-pocket tuition costs, regardless of income. TOC II candidates must be New York State residents who want to pursue teaching in New York State.
Our Admission Committee holistically reviews each applicant’s admission materials and selects the most highly qualified candidates. Detailed admission requirements can be found here:
Monroe’s education program, taught by dedicated faculty, combines pedagogy and content knowledge to make sure you are a well-trained, skillful teacher. Your course load is a challenging mix of academics with guided fieldwork every semester to give you opportunities to practice what your'e learning in real classrooms. But don’t worry: your professors and cooperating teachers will be there to guide you every step of the way.
Monroe's Early Childhood program culminates with a second full semester of student teaching, where candidates spend 14 weeks in an ECE classroom, practicing their teaching skills with support from both the cooperating teacher and Monroe professors. Care is given to provide students with rich and diversified experienced with highly qualified teachers. The goal of this final course is for students to gradually take on more classroom responsibility and be ready for their own classrooms. Responsibilities include planning and teaching whole group and small group lessons, being part of the classroom and school-wide environment and support, and learning to collaborate with parents.
Mentored fieldwork placements are an important part of Monroe's Early Childhood curriculum. We believe there is no better way to learn but to observe a real teacher in the classroom immediately upon entering our program. You will be assigned to a teacher your very first semester, and complete several more internships before you graduate.
Your Future Career in Early Childhood Education
Well-educated early childhood teachers are in demand, especially in high-needs, urban areas. Some typical jobs for Monroe graduates include:
Public or Private Universal Pre-K Teacher
Public or Private Early Childhood Teacher (Kindergarten, Grade 1, or Grade 2)
