SPOTLIGHT: Staci Shaw, CTE Early Childhood Teacher at McDowell High School in Marion, NC
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STACI SHAW We are pleased to celebrate National CTE Month with our spotlight on McDowell High School’s early childhood education program. McDowell High School has an extensive CTE Program, from business to food preparation in the new state-of-the-art kitchen. We spoke with Staci Shaw, the CTE Early Childhood teacher at McDowell High School, a position she has held for 16 years. |
What is your background, and how did you come to McDowell High School and CTE?
Although I have been at McDowell High School for 16 years, I started in legal studies. I was a caseworker in upstate New York before going back to school for a lateral entry to early childhood in North Carolina. I have been in North Carolina for 17 years, with 16 of them in McDowell County, a community I love.
Can you briefly discuss your ECE efforts and your work toward credentials/certificates and apprenticeships in ECE?
Over the years, I have seen many students take Child Development and Early Childhood. Students in Early Childhood have an internship from 8:00 – 11:00 am in a child care program, offering the students hands-on work in a child care setting. The pre-apprenticeship program has also evolved. In 2021, McDowell signed five pre-apprentices. Three pre-apprentices are now happily at the local Head Start Program as apprentices continuing their careers and education. One CTE student I taught went on to get her B-K degree and is now a Family Advocate for the Head Start Program.
With challenges in child care having enough teachers, have you found that there is an increased or decreased interest in ECE? Is there a highlight you want to share about an ECE apprentice?
There has not been an increase or decrease in CTE in Early Childhood. The numbers are about the same. Some students take Early Childhood, go to their internship, realize how hard it is, and decide to go another route. Others take the class and internship and love it.
Last summer, I had a student who just loved her internship and, in the summer, worked with Early Head Start. She is taking two college classes and will continue to be an apprentice with the help of Building Bright Futures.
What do you think is the strongest piece of the early childhood CTE program?
The three-day-a-week internship that is part of the Early Childhood CTE class is a strong component. Working in the classroom often impacts a student’s decision to be an apprentice and continue in the field. There is also now an updated CTE Early Childhood curriculum. There is no longer a test at the end of the course. Now, students complete a more hands-on Performance-Based Measure (PBM). I recently had a student ask, “When do we get to write the storybook?” They know there are new curriculum pieces, and many are excited about that.
If money were no object, what change would you make to your program?
I would change how much early childhood teachers are paid. They need to get the amount of money they deserve. You can start at Walmart at $16 an hour in McDowell County. It is hard for early childhood educators, even in the Head Start/Pre-K public schools, to compete with that. I tell students that working with children may not involve nights and weekends and can lead to a stable career and future.
What do you want others to know about the importance of CTE as it relates to the ECE workforce?
Career and Technical Education (CTE) is so important. "Today an education; tomorrow a career" is the motto of McDowell County Schools' CTE program. CTE focuses on career development, skill acquisition, and hands-on learning. I love teaching Early Childhood in the CTE Program.
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Building Bright Futures is pleased to celebrate National Career Technical Education (CTE) Month. The CTE community encompasses those at the local, state, and national level who work to make the CTE program great, including education, community, and business partners. Building Bright Futures is especially pleased to partner with our North Carolina CTE programs as we build the next generation of early childhood educators.