MASTER TEACHER REQUIREMENTS Oklahoma Child Care Association
Master Teacher Requirement Master teachers qualifications: are at least 18 years of age; A) have at least a high school diploma, General Education Development (GED), or B) Licensing approved equivalent; and have a current Oklahoma Professional Development Ladder (OPDL) certificate C) per OAC 340 Appendix FF - Oklahoma Professional Development Ladder of: (i) Level 3, specifically met by an Oklahoma Competency Certificate with a Master Teacher emphasis; or (ii) Level 4 or higher. Master teacher qualifications begin at a vocational level and move upward, requires current status on our state-run training registry, and also other specific training such as cpr/first aid. (And all must be done prior to awarding this classification.)
Master Teacher Requirement Master teachers responsibilities: • (A) support other teaching personnel in meeting teacher and assistant teacher responsibilities; • (B) are responsible for: (i) the direct care of children; (ii) planning and implementing the lesson plans; (iii) classroom arrangement; (iv) planning and implementing parent communication and family engagement; and (v) providing input on program development and evaluation; and • (C) are present at the facility during the hours of operation at least 50 percent of operating hours or 30 hours per week, whichever is less
Changes to the Requirement… how many are needed. Previous Standards: Current Standards: Based on license; Based on license; • Under minimum standards • Under minimum standards • 1 for every 60 children • 1 for every 60 children • Under the Stars program • Under the Stars program • 1 for every 30 children. 1 st year • 1 for every 30 children • 1 for every 20 children, each year after • School Age Children were removed NEW CALCULATION HAS HAD VARIED from the calculation. EFFECT, ALLOWING FOR SOME PROGRAMS TO NEED MORE MASTER TEACHERS AND OTHERS TO NEED LESS.
Changes to the Requirement… how many are needed. Example 1 Example 2 2 Star Center licensed for 99 2 Star Center licensed for 180 Under previous regulation, this Under previous regulation, this center has 180 children, 60 being center has 99 children, 40 being school age. school age. 99-40= 59/20 is 2.95 or 3 masters 180-40= 140/20 is 7 master teachers Under new standard, Under new standard, 180/30 is 6 master teachers 99/30 is 3.3 or 4 master teachers Result: I ncreased Requirement Result: Decreased Requirement
Changes to the Requirement… how many are needed. Master teachers are calculated based on license capacity instead of actual capacity. Center licensed for 120 children will not have 120 children enrolled on the first day, but is required to have 2 master teachers already employed. Example: The City Rescue Mission
Master Teacher Shortage vs. Worker Shortage • Child care centers/homes, like many industries, are having difficulty finding workers. • Various early childhood programs are competing for qualified workers. • Burden on child care workers is outweighing the benefits to being a child care worker. • We need good people to do this work, but we are putting up too many barriers and making it too costly and too complicated. • We need more options to allow for on-the-job training.
Opportunities for Relief 1) Too much training required for the level of pay that the industry can support. Adjustments can be made in the amount and type of training required and the timeframe allowed to obtain. 2) The burden to document training is overwhelming and inefficient. System needs to be managed better. 3) Purpose of training does not warrant such a high level of scrutiny. System needs to be managed better. 4) Master teacher requirement is preventing centers from staying in operation. We would like to ask for a moratorium of this requirement. “Having rules for the game are great, but if no one can play the game, what point is there to having rules.”
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