- APRENDE apprentices work in a licensed or registered early childhood program.
- Apprentices are supported with professional development and using their job to meet their early childhood coursework competencies. This reduces college classroom time and enables apprentices to complete their degrees more quickly, ideally in 2-3 years.
- Apprentices earn higher stipends for taking more credits each term.
- The apprenticeship integrates college course learning with apprentices’ experiences assisting in the early childhood classroom.
- Apprentices receive ongoing mentorship from an early childhood lead teacher. This long-term mentorship experience ensures that apprentices are ready to become a lead teacher by the end of their apprenticeship.
If you do not have experience working in early childhood and do not have the Early Childhood Development Certificate (CDC), we recommend starting with the pre-apprenticeship program. However, you can choose to apply for either the pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship program.
If you are currently working for an early childhood education program, you should apply for the apprenticeship program. If your employer is not already working with APRENDE, they will need to meet certain requirements and become an employer partner.
If you already have an Childhood Development Certificate (CDC) you should apply to the apprenticeship program.
Still not sure? Fill out the interest form and we will contact you!
No, if you already have your Early Childhood Development Certificate, you are not eligible to participate in the pre-apprenticeship program. However, you can still apply for the apprenticeship program.
Yes, you can apply to the apprenticeship program if you don’t already have a job at an early childhood program. However, in order to be accepted into the apprenticeship program, you will need to obtain a job with an employer partner. After you apply, APRENDE will work with you to find a job with partner employers.
APRENDE welcomes new employers to join the APRENDE program as employer partners. Your employer will need to work with APRENDE to meet certain requirements to become an employer partner. Have them contact APRENDE for more information.
APRENDE does not directly pay for your college tuition or books. However, by participating in APRENDE, you will be eligible to apply for the ECECD Scholarship for full tuition, books, and fees.
APRENDE will provide you with more information about how to apply, but you must apply for this scholarship directly in order to receive free tuition and reimbursement for books. As a student, you also have the opportunity to apply for federal financial aid and college scholarships.
Yes! APRENDE is a bilingual Spanish/English program.
SFCC and CNM offer the Early Childhood Development Certificate and Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education classes in both English and Spanish. Both schools have a Bilingual Coordinator who works specifically to support Spanish-speaking early childhood students.
APRENDE has employer partners and mentors who can support Spanish-language participants.
