Child Care and Education

Child care is the third largest industry in the State of Minnesota; there are more than 30,000 child care providers, more than there are elementary school teachers, or employees in legal services, business services, or health insurance. The importance of high quality early care education is becoming more widely recognized within the private and business sectors, resulting in an increasing demand for professional child care providers.

This program prepares graduates to provide a safe, healthy, developmentally and culturally appropriate learning environment for children birth through age eight. Because children learn primarily through play, the program prepares learners to develop hands-on, developmentally and culturally appropriate activities to assist children to grow cognitively, socially, emotionally, physically, and creatively. Learners develop skills for building positive relationships and communication with children, families, and co-workers. Courses in parent and professional relations, health, safety, nutrition, child development, positive guidance, developmentally and culturally appropriate environment, special needs, abuse and neglect, family dynamics, infant-toddler, school age, and observing and assessing prepare learners to work in a variety of child care settings: family, group family, center base, infant-toddler, pre-school, and school-age care, and as educational paraprofessionals providing teaching and clerical support for classroom teachers.

The program meets requirements for Teacher/Assistant Teacher as specified by Minnesota Department of Human Services Rules 9502 and 9503. Additional work experience may be required for teacher positions in licensed child care centers.

While this program is designed for those who wish to enter the workforce immediately, many of the courses transfer to Bemidji State University, should graduates choose to continue their education and attain a four year early childhood education degree to teach infants through third graders. Please refer to the BSU brochure for more information about the unique partnership between BSU and NTC.