Lori Ryan Boosts State’s Early Childhood Higher Education Partnership
In 2016, a significant statewide early care and education stakeholder meeting was convened by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to establish a collaborative partnership aimed at successfully articulating two-year and four-year institutional coursework and programming. Upon completion of the articulation work for CDE in 2018, collaborators saw value and potential to continue the dialogue around early childhood education and family support and decided to form the Early Childhood Higher Education Partnership (ECHEP). Since that time, ECHEP members statewide have worked to ensure that higher education programs in early care and education are competency-based and equitable. This has included creation and revision of workforce competencies related to preparing highly qualified educators and advocating for more inclusive requirements.
Today, the ECHEP, co-led by Lori Ryan, associate teaching professor and program lead in the Early Childhood Education program at University of Colorado Denver, and Molly Milusnic, early childhood education coordinator at Pueblo Community College, work in partnership with other faculty and multiple state agencies to continue to plan, design, coordinate and advocate for well-aligned higher education pathways that prepare and advance early childhood professionals who improve outcomes for children and families in Colorado. The partnership is always co-led by faculty from one four-year institution and one community college.