Kansas panel details career-pathway rollout, workforce study and supports for early-childhood professionals

The Kansas Early Childhood Recommendations Panel on its April remote meeting heard a detailed progress report on the statewide career pathway intended to guide early-childhood professionals’ advancement and professional learning.

Panel chair Cornelia Stevens opened the item and the career-pathway leadership team described the project as a competency-based roadmap intended to apply across child care centers, licensed homes, Head Start and school-age programs. The team said the revision was informed by a comprehensive workforce study that represented nearly 6,000 current and former early-childhood care and education professionals from all 105 Kansas counties.

Patty Peschel, executive director of Quesido, said the pathway work aligns with the panel’s 2020 executive order charge to assess needs, advance careers and strengthen higher-education partnerships. "We have used data gathered internally and externally to guide the development of the career pathway," she said.

Dr. Stephanie Parks, who described the study work supported by the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation at Kansas State University, said the research team is sharing findings via webinars and briefs. She noted that 71% of respondents reported some collegiate experience and 83% are interested in continuing degrees, training or certification, which informed updates extending the pathway beyond a bachelor’s degree to include master's and doctoral recognition.

Presenters highlighted implementation supports: more than 25 mini-grants awarded in 2024 of up to $10,000 each to community colleges, universities and community partners for replicable projects to boost recruitment, retention and field supervision training; open-access training modules developed by partnering universities and hosted on the CASITO site; and a newly hired career-navigation team that offers one-on-one coaching, individualized professional development plans (IPDPs), on-site visits and a monthly peer learning series.

Sharron Field, program coordinator with CASETO, described career navigators’ role helping participants complete IPDPs, map coursework with higher-education partners and access scholarships. She said a recent navigator helped a workforce participant who had left employment to secure a new role and pursue a CDA.

The team also described the "Elevate Your Career" online course, launched in 2024, with more than 900 completers; the course guides participants through the Kansas core competencies and results in an IPDP.

Bronwyn, a pathway lead, emphasized the tool is a draft and an iterative work in progress being aligned with the CAPE portal to unify the statewide system. "It truly is a draft," she said, inviting feedback and noting public feedback sessions listed via the project QR code.

During Q&A, Chair Stevens pressed the group on compensation for newly licensed teachers, citing immediate staffing pressures at her centers: "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, and they're gonna go to the school district." Presenters said compensation has been the subject of a KU study and that CAPE will collect compensation data to support data-informed decisions, but they did not present a funding mechanism or immediate policy to raise salaries.

The team said next steps include continued partnership with higher-education institutions, additional feedback sessions, operationalizing the pathway within CAPE and using study results to refine recognition of experience and credential mapping. The panel was asked to help promote PDG-funded events and to encourage workforce participation in the portal and feedback sessions.

The panel adjourned for work-group breakout meetings and will continue receiving implementation updates at future meetings.