November 2013, T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA Sponsoring Center Manual
T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA
Sponsoring Center Manual
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA* is administered by:
November 2013
* T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® is a licensed program of Child Care Services Association.
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T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA Scholarship
Introduction & Program Overview
What is the Sponsoring Center Manual?
This manual is the Sponsoring Center Manual of Child Care Aware of Minnesota’s T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood®
MINNESOTA program. It is considered an extension of the contract signed by the scholarship recipient, the
sponsoring center and T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA. Child Care Aware reserves the right to change, add to,
eliminate or modify any of the procedures in this manual at its discretion, with or without notice. The most
updated version of the manual will always be available on the T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA website.
What is the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA program?
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA is a higher education scholarship program intended to help early
childhood and school-age care professionals increase their levels of education, compensation and
commitment to the field.
History of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program
The Teacher Education And Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) Early Childhood® Program began in North
Carolina in 1990 to upgrade the level of education of the teachers working with young children, while making
the educational process affordable, increasing wages and reducing turnover.
Over the past two decades, the program has received national attention as one of the first to link teacher
education and compensation. Because of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood ® project, teachers nationally have
completed on average 14 college credits per year, turnover rates have decreased and salaries have increased.
The program has since expanded to more than 20 states across the nation. For more information on the
creation of T.E.A.C.H. in North Carolina and states that currently administer the program, visit
www.childcareservices.org.
History of T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA, a program of Child Care Aware of Minnesota, began in 2002. During
the first year of T.E.A.C.H., the program served a select portion of Minnesota only, offering the CDA and
associate degree scholarship options. During the fall of 2003, T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA awarded its first
bachelor’s degree scholarship. T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA serves child care providers and centers statewide,
offering a variety of scholarship models to meet providers’ needs.
As the licensee agency, Child Care Aware of Minnesota sets Minnesota’s policies and procedures for operating
the T.E.A.C.H. program within the guidelines established by North Carolina, the license holder of the T.E.A.C.H
Early Childhood® project. In making decisions that impact T.E.A.C.H., Child Care Aware of Minnesota utilizes
input from the T.E.A.C.H. Advisory Committee and other key early care and education stakeholders.
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To continue operating a successful program, T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA also evaluates recipients and sponsoring
centers on an annual basis to better understand their experience with the program and to make necessary
changes for improvement.
T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA’s Mission Statement
The mission of T.E.A.C.H. is to promote and provide support needed for child care professionals to increase
their level of education, retention and compensation, while ensuring that it is economically and professionally
feasible for individuals to stay in the field.
Administering Organization
Child Care Aware of Minnesota, which administers T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA, is dedicated to assisting families,
providers and communities with child care information and services. For more information about Child Care
Aware of Minnesota visit childcareawaremn.org.
Funding
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA is funded largely through federal dollars but also receives some
foundation support. T.E.A.C.H., the scholarship recipient and the sponsoring child care center (when
applicable) all pay a portion of educational costs.
Available Scholarships
 CDA Training for College Credit
o This scholarship covers college credits needed to meet the training requirement for the
National Child Development Associate Credential (CDA). This scholarship is available for studies
at Dakota County Technical College, Mesabi Range Community and Technical College and Leech
Lake Tribal College.
 Associate Degree Scholarship
o This scholarship is for child care and school-age care professionals who are working towards a
two-year degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development.
 Bachelor Degree Scholarship
o This scholarship is for child care and school-age care professionals who are working towards a
four-year degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development.
 Student Teaching Scholarship
o This scholarship is available to child care and school-age care professionals who are enrolled in
Student Teaching and are able to work 10 hours/week while completing their student teaching
requirements.
 Judy Lindman Memorial Scholar Forgivable Loan Program
o This forgivable loan is available to high school seniors who want to pursue a two-year degree in
Child Development or Early Childhood Education.
With the exception of the Judy Lindman Memorial award, all scholarship models are available to Minnesota
early childhood and school-age care professionals who work full-time or part-time in a legally regulated or
licensed child care/school-age care program or operate a licensed family child care program and meet the
eligibility requirements.
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Eligibility Requirements* (Do not apply to Judy Lindman awards; see website for details.)
 Be a U.S. citizen or legal resident
 Be 18 years of age or older
 Work in Minnesota
 Have a high school diploma or GED
 Work directly with children for a minimum of 780 hours per year (averaging at least 15 hours per week)
 Be employed by your current program or working under your current family child care license for at
least six months at the time of application
 Taking courses toward an approved Minnesota accredited college or university early childhood/child
development degree program or
 Pursuing a National Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential for college credits (at one of the
institutions named earlier in this manual)
 Agree to continue working at least one additional year beyond your contract year at your current child
care or school-age care program (i.e. commitment year)
 May not be currently be a REETAIN recipient
*Home-based programs are not eligible for this scholarship, i.e. Early Head Start. Also, these eligibility
requirements do not apply to the Judy Lindman award.
Role of the Counselor
One feature that makes the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA Scholarship Program unique is providing
scholarship recipients with a Program Counselor. Counselors answer questions regarding scholarship contracts
and policies/procedures and provide suggestions regarding scholarship options. The counselor communicates
on behalf of recipients with participating colleges and universities to ensure prompt payment for approved
classes.
College Application and Admissions Process
Applying for Financial Aid
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA scholarship recipients are required to apply for other sources of
financial aid. Working full-time and attending school is challenging and financial aid can alleviate financial
stresses. Recipients must apply for both federal and state funded financial aid by completing the FAFSA (Free
Application for Federal Student Aid) form. For more information, visit www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.html or call 1800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). Recipients must also contact their college/university’s financial aid office for
additional information on financial aid opportunities available at their college/university.
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T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA
Procedures and Policies
Contract Requirements & Eligibility
To help individuals understand the paperwork required for our program, new T.E.A.C.H. scholarship recipients
receive a binder including their contract, a recipient handbook and other useful information. In all scholarship
award packets (with or without binder), each T.E.A.C.H. recipient receives two copies of the scholarship
contract that outlines the agreement and each participant’s responsibilities. All copies must be signed by
T.E.A.C.H., the scholarship recipient and their sponsoring center. The recipient is required to mail in one of the
signed contracts to T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA; this must be mailed with the original signature on it (not a copy).
The remaining contract is for the recipient. Centers are encouraged to make a copy of the contract to keep on
file. The contract outlines each party’s responsibilities.
Requirements of the Scholarship Recipient
 Each semester, recipients are responsible to pay a portion of tuition and books, depending on the
scholarship model. (For specific information, refer to the contract.)
 The contract runs for a full year from the term that it is awarded (i.e. fall 2012 through summer 2013).
The scholarship recipient must successfully complete a minimum of nine credits within the contract
year to be eligible for the bonus/raise, but T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA will cover up to a maximum of 15
semester credits. (Authorized credits covered by the Pell Grant or other outside funds do count toward
the credit maximum.)
 Recipients who choose to take additional credits above the contract limit can pay for the credits
themselves or utilize student loans or self loans, if eligible. However, T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA strongly
encourages scholarship recipients to pace their education so they do not need to accept loans.
 Upon successful completion of the contract year, scholarship recipients will receive compensation in
the form of a bonus from Child Care Aware of Minnesota. Additionally, six months after this contract,
the sponsoring center must pay a bonus or raise to the recipient (depending on the scholarship model
and option selected). However, in order for Child Care Aware of Minnesota to issue a bonus to the
recipient and/or a compensation letter to the sponsoring center, recipients must submit all required
grade reports and paperwork to Child Care Award of Minnesota.
 If recipient fails to submit required paperwork, the T.E.A.C.H. program counselor will attempt to collect
necessary paperwork by submitting emails, letters and/or phone calls to recipient. After at least three
unsuccessful contacts, the scholarship may be rescinded and the recipient will be responsible for
paying MNCCR&R back for all monies expended on their behalf. The recipient may also be ineligible for
future scholarships.
 If a recipient submits paperwork after the scholarship has been rescinded, T.E.A.C.H. will reverse the
charges, but the recipient will still be ineligible for receiving additional funds under the affected
contract and will not be eligible to receive the bonus. However, the recipient may be eligible to apply
for future T.E.A.C.H. scholarships; this decision will be made at the discretion of T.E.A.C.H.
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Commitment Year
For each contract period completed, the recipient commits to working at least one additional year at their
sponsoring center (commitment year). A commitment year immediately follows the completed contract.
Failing to complete contract and/or commitment year
Recipients will not be required to pay back funds if:
 Medical reason(s) made it impossible for him/her to complete the terms of the contract (a letter from
a physician will need to be submitted);
 He/she was laid off due to low enrollment or the center closed (a statement will need to be signed by
the director); or
 Any other circumstances that Child Care Aware of Minnesota and/or the T.E.A.C.H. Advisory
Committee feels appropriate under this clause.
Recipients will be required to pay back funds if:
 He/she quits current position;
 He/she was fired due to performance issues;
 He/she lost the ability to operate under the child care license (e.g. violated the terms of their license,
license suspended or revoked);
 He/she has changed his/her major and is no longer pursuing a degree in Early Childhood
Education/Child Development; or
 Any other circumstances that Child Care Aware of Minnesota and/or the T.E.A.C.H. Advisory
Committee feels appropriate under this clause.
Bonus and/or Raise
Center Staff Compensation
Upon successful completion of the contract year, recipients receive a bonus payment from T.E.A.C.H.
MINNESOTA. Then, six months following their contract year, the sponsoring center must give the recipient a
bonus or raise, depending upon their scholarship model. Compensation may be a bonus, raise or combination
of both; this compensation is to be in addition to any other normally expected raise or bonus from the
center. The center director will be notified approximately six months following the contract end date to award
compensation as outlined in the contract to the recipient. Compensation choices fall under two options:
Option One: Bonus
The sponsoring center issues a $250 bonus approximately six months after successful completion of
the contract period. The bonus is issued in addition to any other expected bonus or raise received by
the scholarship recipient in that year. (For part-time scholarship recipients the bonus is $125.)
Option Two: Raise
The sponsoring center will issue a two percent raise to the recipient approximately six months after
completion of a successful contract. (For part-time scholarship recipients the raise is 1.5%.)
**For school districts and other unionized entities unable to pay a bonus or raise T.E.A.C.H. will work
with them to create another compensation option.
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If the scholarship recipient chooses to leave employment at the sponsoring program or is fired due to
performance before the commitment year is completed, the recipient forfeits all coming bonus/raise
payments and may be held responsible to pay all tuition charges and other payments made by Child Care
Aware of Minnesota.
Contract Completion
If employment is terminated or the recipient resigns from the sponsoring center anytime during the
contract/commitment period the contract becomes invalid as of the last day of employment. Recipients are
required to contact their counselor if their employment status changes. Recipients who do not fulfill all
contract obligations may no longer be eligible for the scholarship or possibly other programs offered through
T.E.A.C.H. and/or Child Care Aware of Minnesota (e.g. REETAIN). Recipients may be held responsible to pay
back all tuition charges or reimbursements made by Child Care Aware of Minnesota and release time paid by
their sponsoring center (if the center chooses to bill the recipient). If a recipient loses their position due to
reasons out of their control, they will not be liable for monies paid out on their behalf. Please contact the
T.E.A.C.H. office for more information regarding these policies.
Reimbursement Forms and Invoice Procedures
Tuition and Book Payments
T.E.A.C.H. will set up third party billing arrangements with every school where the recipient is taking approved
credits. We require the recipients to send us an authorization form for the classes they are taking. T.E.A.C.H.
will then communicate with the college to authorize payment for those credits. Once the schools have
received our authorization, the school usually bills us one to two weeks after their drop/add deadline. (Some
schools differ.) After we receive the bill and all of the recipient’s documents, we will pay for tuition and
process the additional paperwork (e.g. recipient’s Form B for book reimbursement). The recipient may get a
check or invoice from T.E.A.C.H. depending on the status of their account balance due.
With a few exceptions, recipients must purchase textbooks upfront and submit receipts to Child Care Aware of
Minnesota for 80 percent reimbursement of the cost of the books. (No reimbursement is provided for sales
tax, shipping costs and/or school supplies such as notebooks, calculators, pens/pencils, etc.) As soon as books
are purchased, recipients should complete a Form B, attach a copy of the book receipt and a copy of the
course schedule and send it to their counselor.
Release Time
Center Staff Release Time (see Appendix 1)
As part of the T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA scholarship agreement with child care center programs, a T.E.A.C.H.
scholarship recipient is eligible for three hours (1.5 hours for part-time employees) of paid release time per
week – up to 36 hours per quarter/48 hours per semester for terms with at least one credit covered by
T.E.A.C.H. The recipient may use release time to attend class, study or take care of personal needs. Even if a
recipient takes classes outside of regularly scheduled work hours, the recipient is still entitled to the same
amount of release time. The program director and recipient may create a schedule for release time that works
for both the recipient and the center.
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Also as part of the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship agreement, Child Care Aware of Minnesota will reimburse the center
for 75 percent of the claimed release time, at a rate of $10.00 per hour. As mentioned above, this is for up to
36 hours per quarter or 48 hours per semester for an “active” term (for a maximum of $1,080 per year). To
receive this reimbursement, the program director (or owner or board member, if the scholarship recipient is
the program director) must return the Release Time Reimbursement Claim (Form C) at the end of every
“active” term. (An “active” term means that the recipient completed at least one credit under the T.E.A.C.H.
scholarship.) There is an example of the Form C in this handbook (see Appendix 1) along with more detailed
instructions accompanying it.
The recipient or the program director can complete the dates and hours on the Form C; however, both parties
must sign the form. Please return the Release Time Reimbursement Claim within two weeks after the end of
the recipient’s semester (e.g. by September 14 if summer semester classes end August 31). If you would like
more information about how to complete the Form C or if you have problems scheduling release time, please
contact the T.E.A.C.H. office.
Sponsoring Center Invoices
Two weeks after the end of a term, the sponsoring center should send the completed and signed Form C to
the scholarship counselors. Approximately four weeks after the end of the term T.E.A.C.H. will process the
center’s portion of the books and tuition and subtract the amount owed to the center from the Form C. Then
T.E.A.C.H. will send a check or invoice depending on the final balance.
Communications
Regular communication between T.E.A.C.H. counselors and sponsoring centers is important. Email is one of
the most frequent ways the counselors contact sponsoring centers, so please be sure that the counselors have
your most current email address on file, in addition to phone number and address.
T.E.A.C.H. Newsletter
T.E.A.C.H. electronically publishes the T.E.A.C.H. Tribune two times each year. The T.E.A.C.H. Tribune is an
important resource as it contains deadline updates, paperwork requests and program announcements, along
with articles about the child care field. All T.E.A.C.H. recipients and sponsoring employers with current email
addresses will receive the newsletter.
T.E.A.C.H. Website
T.E.A.C.H. regularly updates its website with new information affecting the program, in addition to posting
applications and other relevant documents online: www.childcareawaremn.org/TEACH.
Prezi
The T.E.A.C.H. team has created an informational video about the T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA scholarship program.
It is available on our website, and feel free to share this video as appropriate.
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Scholarship Staff Directory
Contact Information
Child Care Aware of Minnesota
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA
380 Lafayette Road, Suite 103
Saint Paul, MN 55107
Phone: (651) 290-9704
Fax: (651) 209-1761
Website: www.childcareawaremn.org/TEACH
T.E.A.C.H. Staff Directory
Erin Young, T.E.A.C.H. Program Counselor
Email: eriny@childcareawaremn.org
Phone extension: 200
Shelly Hendricks, T.E.A.C.H. Program Counselor
Email: shellyh@childcareawaremn.org
Phone extension: 106
Denise Kilgore, T.E.A.C.H. Accountant
Email: denisek@childcareawaremn.org
Phone: 106
Ann McCully, Executive Director
Email: annm@childcareawaremn.org
Phone: 115
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Appendix 1
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA
Release Time Reimbursement Claim (Form C) Instructions
For Child Care Center Programs
As part of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood ® MINNESOTA scholarship agreement with child care center
programs, a T.E.A.C.H. scholarship recipient is eligible for three hours (1.5 hours for part-time employees) of
paid release time per week – up to 36 hours per quarter/48 hours per semester for terms with at least one
credit covered by T.E.A.C.H. The recipient may use release time to attend class, study or take care of personal
needs. Even if a recipient takes classes outside of regularly scheduled work hours, the recipient is still entitled
to the same amount of release time. The program director and recipient may create a schedule for release
time that works for both the recipient and the center.
Also as part of the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship agreement, Child Care Aware of Minnesota will reimburse the center
for 75 percent of the claimed release time, at a rate of $10.00 per hour. As mentioned above, this is for up to
36 hours per quarter or 48 hours per semester for an “active” term. To receive this reimbursement, the
program director (or owner or board member, if the scholarship recipient is the program director) must return
the Release Time Reimbursement Claim (Form C) at the end of every “active” term. (An “active” term means
that the recipient completed at least one credit under the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship.)*
The recipient or the program director can complete the dates and hours on the Form C; however, both parties
must sign the form. Please return the Release Time Reimbursement Claim within two weeks after the end of
the recipient’s semester (e.g. by September 14 if summer semester classes end August 31).
If you would like more information about how to complete the Form C or if you have problems scheduling
release time, please contact the T.E.A.C.H. office.
*If you chose option 3 on the center participation agreement, you will not be reimbursed for release time.
However, you are still required to give release time to your T.E.A.C.H. scholarship recipient(s) on staff.
T.E.A.C.H. MINNESOTA
380 Lafayette Road, Suite 103
Saint Paul, MN 55107
Phone: 651-290-9704, extension 106 or 200
Fax: 651-209-1761
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