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Panel hears career-pathway progress, workforce study and rollout plans; providers press for pay solutions
Summary
Panel members reviewed an updated career pathway for early childhood professionals informed by a comprehensive workforce study of nearly 6,000 respondents, new career navigators, mini-grants and higher-education alignment; provider leaders warned that pay structures must follow credentialing to avoid staff losses.
Cornelia Stevens, chair of the Kansas Early Childhood Recommendations Panel and executive director of Top Boy Learning Center, opened the discussion of the career pathway and asked how the pathway will help local providers retain staff who complete licensure programs. "We have 5 people who are currently in the TAP program ... we have to find a way to make sure that we can pay these 5 people the equivalent of a licensed teacher salary, or we're gonna lose our teachers," Stevens said.
Presenters from the career-pathway leadership team described a multi-part implementation driven by a large workforce study and supported by CCDF funding through the Kansas Department for Children and Families. Stephanie Parks said the study "represents the voices of, nearly 6,000 early childhood care and education professionals from all 105 counties in Kansas," and the team is using survey and focus-group results to revise the pathway's competency framework, expand the top levels to include master's and doctoral degrees and better recognize prior experience.
The pathway implementation includes career navigators who offer individualized coaching and IPDP (individualized professional development plan) assistance, an "Elevate Your Career" course that had over 900 completers last year, and more than 25 mini-grants (up to $10,000 each) to community colleges, universities and local programs to support recruitment, retention and mentor training. Sharron Field described navigation services as "1 on 1 coaching and mentoring opportunities, and assist with IPDP development."
Panelists emphasized higher-education alignment: institutions across the state are mapping curricula to the revised Kansas core competencies and working on articulation agreements so credits and competencies transfer between technical colleges, community colleges and 4-year programs. The team also flagged CAPE (the professional-development portal) as the system that will hold profile and compensation data to inform later pay discussions; presenters said CAPE is being integrated into the pathway operational plan.
Panel discussion distinguished study and tool development from concrete compensation policy. Presenters acknowledged compensation was a focus of a prior KU study and said the pathway team is collecting pay data as part of CAPE to inform future options, but they did not present an established funding or pay-increase mechanism. The panel agreed data and cross-agency coordination will be needed before any formal compensation proposals can be implemented.
The team asked members to review draft pathway materials and participate in feedback sessions; a QR code and registration links were provided for public input and higher-education summit participation. The panel concluded the discussion by urging continued attention to how recognition, credentialing and pay will connect in implementation.
