Expanding Early Childhood Education: An ApprenticeshipNC Spotlight on Charlotte Bilingual Preschool

Charlotte Bilingual Preschool (CltBP) was founded in 1999 with the goal of offering preschool options for Spanish-speaking children born into economically marginalized families in the City of Charlotte . For 25 years, CltBP has strived to positively affect the Latino community and the children and parents it serves. In 2014, CltBP became one of the first NC 5-star licensed dual language preschools in North Carolina. In 2018, the school expanded its preschool program capacity by 33% with the launch of the pilot Green Room integrated classroom model. The school saw even more growth during 2019 through a partnership with Meck PreK and in 2022 when it broadened its reach via remote classrooms. One thing is clear: Charlotte Bilingual Preschool is growing at a remarkable pace. With this growth, however, comes the need for more Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers. Recognizing the challenge of finding qualified teachers to fill its workforce needs, Charlotte Bilingual Preschool turned to Registered Apprenticeship as a means of growing its talent pool.

CltBP has been aware of the ECE teacher shortage in North Carolina for years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it realized that it needed to pursue a workforce development solution if it wished to continue growing. When asked why CltBP turned to Registered Apprenticeship, Ester Duff, Workforce Development Director, Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, said, “We knew that if change was needed, we had to be part of the solution. Creating a workforce development pipeline has been fundamental to the delivery of our mission and success stories. Facilitating not only the process of recruitment, hiring, and training specialized educators that truly understand our education model and approach, but they are also capable of implementing our curriculum in a Dual Language classroom model.”

Since registering the Early Childhood Educator Apprenticeship Program through ApprenticeshipNC , CltBP has successfully graduated 18 individuals, all of whom are currently employed, either by Charlotte Bilingual Preschool or in roles outside the institution. Through the program, Registered Apprentices spend 37 hours a week completing on-the-job learning. During this time, they work in the classroom under both Spanish and English Lead Teachers who act as their mentors, and they acquire essential skills like lesson planning, student assessment, classroom management, and adapting teaching strategies to meet diverse student needs.

The apprentices also complete a minimum of 256 college contact hours through the community college of their choice. As such, they are applying the skills they learn during their college classes while teaching in the classroom setting.

Charlotte Bilingual Preschool supports apprentices by enrolling them in teacher-specific Spanish language classes, meaning they get the opportunity learn the vocabulary that they would utilize in the classroom with Spanish-speaking students. Apprentices receive a plethora of other benefits through the program, including competitive hourly rates, PTO accrual, vacation time, 401K, scholarship support to cover the costs of higher education, and competitive salary increases after graduation if awarded positions with the Charlotte Bilingual Preschool team.

Yesenia Henriquez, Workforce Development Coordinator and Former Apprentice, Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, highly recommends the program to job seekers, saying, “I think that this program is a great opportunity. It complements the theory with practice as it leverages a well-balanced methodology that incorporates on the job training, college classes, mentorship, and coaching. Not to mention the support system that wraps around each participant to ensure collective and individual success. Nothing can add more value than knowing that we are serving our community and creating a positive impact on the students and families that we serve.”

CltBP sees Registered Apprenticeship as a means of taping into a pool of enthusiastic individuals like Yesenia Henriquez who are eager to enter the teaching profession. Moreover, it allows the school to support continuous and hands-on learning, professional development, and economic mobility while reducing teacher-student ratios and ensuring the school meets the diverse needs of their students and community. Scott Panagrosso, MAEd , Workforce Development Liaison and Apprenticeship Consultant, ApprenticeshipNC, who worked with CltBP to register the program, praised the school for the positive impact it is having on the Charlotte community, saying, “Charlotte Bilingual Preschool is a wonderful example of an organization meeting the needs of their local community.? Charlotte is a growing, vibrant city with a diverse population. Few preschools are equipped to address this diversity, making Charlotte Bilingual unique.? Their apprenticeship program enabled them to develop an exceptional talent pipeline of early childhood educators able to engage Spanish and English populations while creating an inclusive environment for children and their parents.”

Charlotte Bilingual Preschool hopes to expand the program in the future, with Duff saying, “We are actively seeking sponsorship to continue supporting future professionals of the ECE field and increase the number of apprentices that we are able to serve. We are confident that, based on the tremendous impact that BBF has from the beginning, legislators and the pertaining entities will continue funding and supporting this program that has become fundamental to the success of our department and the effective delivery of our services to the community.”

Learn more about Charlotte Bilingual Preschool here.

About ApprenticeshipNC - Part of the NC Community College System: Recognized by the Office of Apprenticeship to act on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), ApprenticeshipNC (ANC) is the State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) operating under the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). ApprenticeshipNC registers apprenticeship programs tailored to meet employers’ needs— providing structured on-the-job learning, supplemental education, and a progressive wage scale.

This article was written by ApprenticeshipNC Communications Assistant Margaret Spainhour as a part of the Amplify ApprenticeshipNC Program Spotlight Initiative.