A new program set to launch in Columbia County, Teacher Apprentice Pathway (TAP), aims to address a serious provider shortage in the early childcare field. By providing a roadmap of professional support for educators, the county can increase its pool of teachers, keep more facilities open, and serve more children.
Central to this effort is Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood (GHPN), a community-serving nonprofit. Its Executive Director, Joan Hunt, affirms that the acceleration and trajectory of facility closures due to a limited workforce requires a bold and focused approach. Sarah Coté-Bennett, GHPN’s Director of Early Childhood Initiatives and the TAP program, adds, “Columbia County has lost 73% of its licensed providers since 2007. Over half of our daycares closed just in the last ten years, an average of 1 closure per year.”
Contributing to—and compounding—this alarming trend are several interdependent factors. Facility closures during and after the COVID pandemic forced many early childhood educators to seek alternative employment; lower pay and burnout are also factors. Unmet teacher quotas prompt more facility closures. A further systemic challenge, notes Coté-Bennett, is that childcare industry regulations require heavy spending on teacher-to-child ratios and safety features, but primarily draw income directly from families. Currently, only 21 daycares are operating in the county, providing a total of 154 infant and toddler slots in a county with 1,300 children to serve.*
Harnessing this sense of urgency, GHPN is launching the Teacher Apprentice Pathway (TAP) program this fall, a teacher-training model designed by Day One Early Learning Community. Coté-Bennett refers to this effort as “Stop the Bleed, Grow the Field,” and the community is stepping up to help. With a $426K investment from Hudson River Bank and Trust (HRBT) over two years, combined with private donations from BTCF fundholders, $500K will be invested in the TAP program. TAP is possible because of a strong foundation of collaboration and ten years of investment by BTCF—over $1M to date—in Columbia County's early childcare infrastructure. HRBT's investment will support 12 trainees, as well as other program activities to yield a minimum of 60 slots preserved and added.
TAP will provide instruction and on-site learning in collaboration with Columbia Children’s Center for six trainees per each eleven-week course. To reduce barriers to participation, people aged 18 and older will be eligible to apply, and a stipend will be provided. The program is also dedicated to finding solutions to other barriers, such as tech access. Teacher trainees have the option to earn the nationally recognized certification of Child Development Associate (CDA) without having to pay fees, which can total up to $600. TAP will also assist with job placement and provide coaching after educators are placed in professional roles.
GHPN, as TAP’s administrator, is uniquely qualified to meet the current workforce challenge head-on, drawing on many years of expertise as the coordinating body—and BTCF’s primary grant partner—of the Early Literacy Learning Network (ELLN). Each month, GHPN convenes this network of 25-30 community partners to collectively strategize ways to strengthen the county’s early learning infrastructure. Columbia Opportunities, Inc., a community-serving nonprofit, has also been an integral partner since the inception of ELLN.
One of the most significant and successful outcomes of ELLN has been the development of a core program at GHPN called Promise Early Learning in 2022. Designed to directly support families, rather than address the provider shortage, this program reduces the main barriers to early childcare access: cost, transportation, and available spots. The five-day-per-week morning program is free, and transportation assistance is provided. Sessions utilize play-based learning, art, and music to encourage socialization, stimulate brain activity, and support literacy.
Parents of children in Promise testify to its consistent, positive impact. The program is a crucial and meaningful support for families and a bright example of what is possible, and could expand, with a fortified base of early educators. One parent shared, "This program not only provides valuable learning opportunities and social experiences for the children, but it also creates a supportive community for the parents.”
ELLN : The Early Literacy and Learning Initiative
Envisioned by and supported by a small group of generous donors and dedicated nonprofits, The Early Literacy and Learning Network (ELLN) provides a crucially needed infrastructure to support early childhood learning, with a focus on literacy, in Columbia County. Since its inception in 2016, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation has stewarded over $1M in resources to programs that lay the required foundation for learning for infants, toddlers and young children, and provides professional development support for educators.
Acknowledgements:
Research for this article included the valuable firsthand insights of Joan Hunt, Executive Director of Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood (GHPN) and Sarah Coté-Bennett, GHPN’s Director of Early Childhood Initiatives and the TAP program. BTCF's Emily Bronson, Senior Community Engagement Officer for Initiatives & Special Projects provided crucial history and context for the ELLN initiative. *Child Care Connections Needs Assessment, 2025, New York State Council on Children and Families.
