One of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s signature initiatives has been to expand the availability of early childhood education.
But efforts like offering free pre-kindergarten and providing grants to open new classrooms have not resolved a central problem: Attracting child care workers and teachers and keeping them.
Researchers from Michigan State University estimate that 79% of ZIP codes in the state are “child care deserts.” That means there are at least three
children ages 0 to 5 for every child care slot available.
“If we care about every child in this state being able to read and do math on grade level, an early foundation is critical,” said Jack Elsey, founder and CEO of the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative (MEWI). “And if we want our economy to be vibrant, then child care is an essential component.”
In order to make more child care centers and classrooms available for those children, there needs to be more workers, and one tactic is to make the job attractive enough that paraprofessionals who are already in the classroom will become full-fledged teachers.
The MiEarly Apprentice is a new program from the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative that aims to pay current child care and pre-K workers to get a college degree, coaching and ultimately, higher wages.
MEWI piloted the program last year in Wayne, Montcalm, Marquette and Alger counties. Now, it is expanding the training program to Mecosta, Osceola, Crawford, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Roscommon, Saginaw and Oakland counties. The group hopes to expand statewide with more funding.
The extra financial boost is helping people like Ally Masy-Alhin, a paraprofessional who works with preschoolers at Gallimore Elementary School in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.
Gallimore participates in the state’s Great Start Readiness Program, which is a pre-K program for 4-year-olds. Until recently, it was only free for students from low-income families but now is available to any student as part of Whitmer’s “pre-K for all” effort.
Plymouth-Canton has expanded from eight free pre-K classrooms to 18.
Statewide, roughly 53,000 students attend a Great Start Readiness class, according to the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Achievement, and Potential. The state program has existed since 1985 and consists of classrooms in public schools, private child-care centers and facilities run by community-based organizations.
Masy-Alhin already has her bachelor’s degree and is working to earn her teaching certificate. As an apprentice, she works directly with the lead teacher in her classroom, completes online lessons and meets monthly with an instructional coach who is part of a state-approved teacher preparation program called #T.E.A.C.H.
She pays no fees for any of the training.
“I have two kids, so I’d rather spend the money on them and their college educations and their futures than to spend it on myself,” said Masy-Alhin. Instead, the program is “making my dreams possible.”
On the morning she spoke with Bridge, Masy-Alhin was spending time reading a book to the 15 eager preschoolers in teacher Andrea Markwood’s class at Gallimore, then encouraging the kids to hunt for letters of the alphabet in the classroom. The preschool runs Monday through Thursday with students having time for recess and nap time. Teachers use Fridays to plan.
“For two years, I felt like “I could do this. I could be a lead teacher,’” she told Bridge. “But I didn’t have the educational background to apply for a position.’” She previously worked in a tuition-based preschool classroom.
The apprenticeship program requires that participants stay working in the field after they complete their training.
Back in 2023, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pitched offering free pre-K for all by the end of her second term. The state had already been expanding pre-K slots.
In 2024, the state laid a goal of getting 75% of 4-year-olds enrolled in a publicly funded early learning setting. At the time, the state estimated it would need at least 1,700 more lead teachers and 3,400 more associate teachers.
Participants in the MiEarly Apprentice program keep their jobs as they work toward earning a child development associate (CDA) credential, an associate degree or bachelor’s degree and lead teacher certification. The program also provides stipends for participants.
Apprentice teachers are paid 80% of the salary paid to a lead teacher.
Generally, MiEarly Apprentice participants earn a minimum of $38,000 a year including wages and stipends. Once they’ve completed the program and become a lead teacher, they would earn $48,500 a year, said Adrian Monge, director of programs at the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative.
The Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative has committed nearly $3.4 million for the program using state funds and money from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (Editor’s note: W.K. Kellogg Foundation is a funder of Bridge Michigan. The foundation had no say in the reporting or editing of this story.)
In Plymouth-Canton, the district has converted some tuition-based classes to the Great Start Readiness Program. Now 68% of preschool students are in a no-cost classroom.
“Many of our staff, when they heard about Pre-k for All, thought they were losing their job,” said Caitlin Opfermann, preschool administrator for the district. “Because they didn’t have the correct credentials to be part of the Pre-K for All program. So by partnering, they are allowed to stay in their position, get paid more, get the education they need, and stay within our program.”
Opfermann cited several upsides for the district expanding pre-K: teachers are salaried and covered under the teacher’s union rather than hourly in the school’s tuition preschool program.
Christina Weiland, an education and public policy professor at the University of Michigan, said Michigan and other states have barriers in the way to making universal pre-K a reality. One of the biggest? Low wages.
She said early childhood staff need to be paid a sustainable wage and there needs to be more public awareness about the Great Start Readiness Program, which has historically been a means-tested program. Weiland said leaders can also help ensure programs are using high-quality curricula.
Child care program directors testified about the challenges about retaining staff in front of a Senate committee Tuesday They report state subsidies for low-income families do not cover the true cost of child care, rising costs for diapers and food and wages unable to compete with other jobs.
“Michigan has increased access to improve access and affordability but we are still woefully understaffed to meet the needs of our workforce,” Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-Keego Harbor, told the committee. Child care workers are fleeing the field because of low wages.”
There are other state efforts to improve early childhood wages. The state and the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District are administering a $16 million effort to provide higher wages to early childhood workers. The program will provide “over 2,500” child care workers stipends across the state.
Free pre-K can save parents thousands of dollars a year on private tuition or other child care. But Alicia Guevara, CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Cooperation, said “we have to also think about what the connection is back to infant and toddler care.”
“Because those two systems are so intricately connected that whatever we do in pre-K is going to have a ripple effect to infant/toddler as well.”
What are the state requirements to teach in the Great Start Readiness Program?
In order to be a lead teacher in a state pre-K classroom, a person must have a teaching certificate and endorsement related to early education or special. Or, the person must have a bachelor’s degree in “early childhood education or child development with a specialization in preschool teaching.” There are certain exceptions for those hired to be a lead teacher before 2014, according to the state’s implementation manual.
Monge of the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative, said MiEarly Apprentice can help demystify the teacher certification process to candidates.
MEWI helps candidates apply for existing programs like scholarships for early childhood workers and the state’s community college tuition-free Michigan Reconnect program. Then, if there’s still a bill for candidates, MEWI covers the costs to ensure it’s tuition-free. With the state requirements, Monge said “we have to remove the financial barrier that exists.”
Opfermann, the Plymouth-Canton administrator, said the district has 80 paraprofessionals and teachers for preschool. About 68% of students are in a Great Start Readiness Program, while the others are in a tuition-based program. She hopes to add two more no-cost classrooms next year and wants to see the state provide even more funds to help with infrastructure costs and more classrooms.
“We’re not stopping till we’ve met the needs of the community,” Opfermann said.
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This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
