2026 ECEPTS National Conference on ECE Apprenticeship

Session 1: 9:45 – 11:00

From Teacher to Leader: The Power of Building from Within

PDF | 1MB

Tired of ECE’s revolving door? Beyond recruitment, Registered Apprenticeships can be a powerful retention strategy. Unpack a three-year journey creating the Early Childhood Emerging Leaders (ECEL) pathway. Learn how experienced lead teachers are elevated into confident, certified directors through a supported model that prioritizes professional mastery and career growth.

Evaluation as a Tool for Co-Design and Improving Job Quality

PDF | 2MB

Evaluation is more than just data collection—it’s a driver for change. Learn how the Illinois Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program uses evaluation to co-design program improvements and spark critical dialogue on workplace conditions. This session explores how to use data to foster on-site cultures of learning and elevate professional development standards.

Employer Voices: Opportunities and Challenges in Registered Apprenticeship

Employers are at the heart of successful Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs). This session features employers from three well-established ECEPTS RAPs. Panelists share firsthand experiences using apprenticeship to address workforce shortages, explain how apprenticeships have benefited their organizations, and highlight opportunities and challenges related to program implementation.

Camp Fire’s Multi-Level ECE Apprenticeship: Strengthening Retention and Sustainability

Camp Fire’s Early Education Apprenticeship Program offers a comprehensive, multi-level roadmap from entry-level roles to advanced credentials. This session explores the program’s design and the data behind its retention and completion rates. Discover how structured supports, strategic partnerships, and funding alignment create a stable, sustainable workforce and clear career growth opportunities for educators.

College Campus Child Development Centers: An Anchor for ECE Apprenticeships

PDF | 4MB

Learn how San Mateo Community College District’s ECEPTS-sponsored apprenticeship program bridges classroom instruction and lab school practice through mentorship, competency-based learning, and professional reflection, while exploring strategies to strengthen student preparation and workforce development.

Reaching 90% Retention: Embedding Supports for Working Apprentices

PDF | 923 KB

How does EDvance College achieve a 90% retention rate for working apprentices? This session examines a high-touch model designed for multilingual learners and full-time educators. Explore the essential embedded supports—from faculty-led instruction and Tech Bridge to video-based reflection and employer coordination—that help ensure success for the modern ECE workforce.

Session 2: 11:15 – 12:30

It Takes a Village: An Apprenticeship Success Story

PDF | 4MB

This presentation explores how a small Midwest community college launched a multi-level apprenticeship program to meet the needs of the ECE workforce. The discussion highlights the institutional supports and workforce agencies that helped sustain the initiative and ensure its long-term success.

Expanded Learning Apprenticeships: Creating Access to ECE and Teaching Careers

ECEPTS-sponsored Expanded Learning Apprenticeships enable participants to earn Child Development Permits, college credits, and associate degrees. Grounded in participant-centered On-the-Job Training and Related Instruction, these programs create accessible and equitable pathways into ECE and PK–12 apprenticeships and teaching careers for the young and diverse Expanded Learning workforce.

From Exploration to Employment: Designing Youth-to-ECE Apprenticeship Pathways

PDF | 7 MB

The E5 Framework for Readiness™ can bridge the gap between youth interest and ECE apprenticeships. Explore how to align K–12, higher education, and workforce systems through intentional stages of exposure and experience. Learn how this integrated approach improves equity, boosts persistence, and supports long-term sustainability.

The Role of Supportive Services in Retaining ECE Apprentices

PDF | 3 MB

This interactive session examines how wraparound supports—including mental health check-ins, English language learner tutoring, financial coaching, and mentorship—combine with data-informed feedback to sustain engagement. Through MAAC’s apprenticeship model, participants will see how attendance and milestone data help identify barriers early, while culturally responsive interventions keep apprentices connected to their goals.

Mentoring That Matters: Strengthening ECE Apprenticeships Through Connection

PDF | 3 MB

New Jersey’s mentor training and apprentice peer-learning models demonstrate the power of intentional program design. Learn how relationship-based practices and coaching can address common challenges such as workload and confidence. Join the discussion on successes, lessons learned, and building systems where both mentors and apprentices can thrive.

Building Oregon’s ECE Workforce: Lessons from a CCR&R Group Sponsor

PDF | 4 MB

Join Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action for a look at its first-year journey as an ECE Registered Apprenticeship sponsor. Explore how rapid growth led to valuable lessons in partnership development and system alignment. Discover how this CCR&R-led model uses continuous improvement to better support employers, mentors, and apprentices in Oregon’s evolving early learning landscape.

Session 3: 2:00 – 3:45

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Apprenticeship Network: Insights and Impact

PDF | 1 MB

The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Apprenticeship Network supports six states in pioneering registered apprenticeship models. This session explores five years of data and lessons learned from across the country. Discover the broad impacts of these programs and gain a national perspective on what it takes to build and sustain successful ECE apprenticeship systems.

Apprenticeships in Critical, Essential Industries: Trends, Policies, and Opportunities

PDF | 998 KB

This session explores apprenticeship trends in education, child care, social care, public service, and other “public good” sectors. Review state, national, and international policies that support these apprenticeships and examine opportunities for growth, particularly through degree pathways that can strengthen vital but often undervalued community-serving workforces.

Supporting Mentors Through Professional Learning Communities

PDF | 3 MB

While much attention is given to apprentices, the role of journey workers (mentors) is often overlooked. In Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), these mentors are frequently early-career professionals themselves. This session examines how Professional Learning Communities can provide the targeted support and mentorship journey workers need to lead effectively while continuing to develop their own skills.

Project Para: A Countywide Apprenticeship for Building an Early Educator Pipeline

PDF | 5 MB

Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) launched Project Para to address unprecedented educator vacancy rates. This initiative strengthens the ECE and TK–12 educator pipeline, beginning with entry-level paraprofessionals. Participants benefit from a high-quality cohort experience, pedagogical preparation, and mentorship, while ACOE builds a sustainable system to meet long-term workforce needs.

Staffing for Impact: Building Teams That Drive Program Success

PDF | 217 KB

What does it take to staff a successful apprenticeship program? Learn how an integrated staffing model supports apprentices, strengthens program operations, and improves retention. This session highlights the roles, responsibilities, and collaboration of key team members who help make registered apprenticeship programs equitable, effective, and sustainable.

Advancing an Island-Based ECE Apprenticeship Model in Hawaiʻi

PDF | 7 MB

Explore Hawaiʻi’s ECE apprenticeship model and its successful implementation across two islands. This session examines strategies for addressing workforce shortages while honoring unique island-specific needs. Participants will leave with a framework for expansion that includes essential program structures, mentorship models, and sustainable compensation strategies.

Session 4: 9:45 – 11:00

Colorado’s Home Visiting Apprenticeship: Launching a New Pathway

PDF | 1MB

While home visiting is critical to family support, workforce pathways remain underdeveloped. This session explores the creation of Colorado’s first home visiting apprenticeship, designed to strengthen training, align with broader workforce systems, and support sustainable field growth. Discover how this model elevates the profession while honoring the relationship-based values essential to effective home visiting.

Growing Our Own: The OUSD Youth Apprenticeship Model

PDF | 3MB

The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is transforming its workforce by providing high school students with a paid pathway into the classroom. This session explores how OUSD integrates hands-on training, college coursework, and mentorship to help youth participants earn credentials while they work. Learn how this district-led model builds an ECE workforce with the skills and experience needed to support young learners.

Spanish Pathway Apprenticeships: Designing for Multilingual Equity

PDF | 1MB

How do we create degree pathways that truly serve Spanish-speaking educators? This session explores the journey of co-designing a bilingual apprenticeship model. Learn how culturally responsive curriculum and language access increase degree attainment and workforce stability, and gain practical insights into building equitable, employer-engaged pathways for Spanish-speaking ECE professionals.

Rhode Island Reimagines Apprenticeship Coaching: A Guide for Implementation

PDF | 10MB

Discover how Rhode Island integrates Head Start’s Practice-Based Coaching and Collective Leadership approaches to advance educator qualifications. This session provides a guide for implementing cyclical, observation-based coaching and explores how ERS-aligned LearnERS tools support reflection and continuous quality improvement across early childhood programs.

A Stronger ECE Workforce Through Apprenticeship Pathways

PDF | 20MB

Discover how ECE apprenticeships can address workforce shortages through supported earn-and-learn pathways. Drawing from the experience of a well-established program in Memphis, this session explores practical strategies, funding options, and coaching structures designed to elevate teacher quality and promote long-term retention.

Partnership-Driven Innovation in ECE Apprenticeships

PDF | 4MB

Explore how strategic partnerships can be leveraged to launch and scale ECE and school-age apprenticeships. This session highlights adaptable frameworks that use braided funding and mentor support to strengthen educator pipelines. Discover proven strategies for reducing turnover and fostering leadership through sustainable, high-quality apprenticeship models.

Session 5: 11:15 – 12:30

Stronger Together: Building Countywide Interest and Investment in Youth Apprenticeship

PDF | 13MB

Alameda County Office of Education is launching ECE Youth Apprenticeship programs in collaboration with ECEPTS, two school districts, and a Career Technical Education (CTE) partner. The initiative is on track to launch three cohorts of 30 students each in August 2026. Learn about the collaboration, partnership development with employers and training providers, and the differentiated supports provided to apprentices.

A Recipe for Success: Connecticut’s Ongoing Commitment to ECE Apprenticeship

PDF | 4MB

Connecticut has made significant investments in early care and education and in using apprenticeship to strengthen the ECE workforce. This session reviews the development of Connecticut’s apprenticeship models and examines the financial and legislative supports that have enabled statewide growth and long-term sustainability.

Equitable ECE Apprenticeships: An Integrated Systems Approach

PDF | 11MB

To address persistent workforce shortages, pathways must prioritize equity. This session explores an integrated apprenticeship model that aligns employers, higher education institutions, and workforce agencies. Participants will examine three distinct career-stage pathways and learn strategies to strengthen recruitment, retention, and sustainability across diverse ECE roles.

Mentoring in Motion: Encouraging the Mentor-Apprentice Relationship

PDF | 2MB

The role of the mentor is a critical component of apprenticeship planning and implementation. Through candid feedback and practical examples, this session shares strategies mentors use to support apprentices while exploring how policy development can strengthen and sustain the mentor role.

Apprenticeship 2.0: Building Bilingual and Rural ECE Pathways

PDF | 6MB

Apprenticeship is reshaping Colorado’s ECE workforce through dynamic state and local partnerships. Discover how a state agency and regional university collaborated to create an inclusive, rural-serving, bilingual pathway featuring wraparound supports, mentoring, stackable credentials, and inspiring apprentice success stories.

Registering for Success: Lessons from ECEPTS Apprenticeships

PDF | 2MB

Using ECEPTS as a real-world example, this session offers a practical look at apprenticeship program registration. Through the perspectives of a national intermediary and the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards, participants will gain insight into program alignment, early decision-making, and strategies that support compliance, scalability, and long-term success.