Early Childhood Excellence

Supporting educators in their careers and serving the region’s crucial need for well trained teachers.

Southern California faces a severe shortage of credentialed early childhood educators. The Early Childhood Excellence initiative addresses this crisis by supporting undergraduate students seeking the PK-3 Specialist Instruction Credential, as well as offering coursework for mid-career teachers who want to earn the new credential as well. Teachers will learn culturally relevant and sustaining practices, and through the support of the initiative, will be able to complete their degrees and credentials with minimal debt. They will also participate in professional development and support networks, to increase overall retention.

Teachers will learn culturally relevant and sustaining practices, and through the support of the initiative, will be able to complete their degrees and credentials with minimal debt. They will also participate in professional development and support networks, to increase overall retention.

The PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential at CSUDH will focuses on culturally relevant and developmentally appropriate practices for young children in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 3rd grade. This credential authorizes the holder to teach all subjects in a self-contained general education classroom setting and to team teach or to regroup students across classrooms, in preschool through 3rd grade. The English learner (EL) authorization provided through this credential aligns with the EL authorization that is earned upon completion of a Single, Multiple or Education Specialist teaching credential program.

*Pending approval, CSUDH will offer the PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Summary of Credential Requirements
This credential will require the applicant to have completed all of the following requirements.
Multiple options are available for meeting these requirements:

• Possession of a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. (Note: if the bachelor's degree is in child development or early childhood education, it will meet the subject matter requirement below).
• Completion of the subject matter requirement in child development or early childhood education.
• Completion of PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential preparation program.
• Passage of a Commission approved Teaching Performance Assessment.
• Passage of the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) examination or a commission approved literacy assessment aligned with the requirements of Education Code section 44320.3.

Complete our interest form and a TTLA staff member will contact you.

Interest Form

Leadership

Jenny C. Chiappe, Ph.D. Co-Director, ECE

Jenny C. Chiappe is an Assistant Professor in the Special Education Program at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Dr. Chiappe earned a doctorate in Special Education at UCLA and Cal State LA. Her research interests include teacher practices to address the academic and social needs of students with disabilities and creating inclusive settings for students with and without disabilities. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Dr. Chiappe worked as a special education teacher to support students with a range of abilities in inclusive settings from preschool to upper elementary school.

Kimberly Radmacher, Ph.D., Co-Director, ECE

Kimberley Radmacher is an Associate Professor in the Child Development Department. She began teaching at CSUDH in 2008 and served as the Child Development Department Chair for 10 years. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on social and emotional development with an emphasis on identity development and peer and family relationships. Her identity research bridges the work on social class, stigma, and identity development to examine young adults’ conceptions of social class and the processes through which they come to perceive social class as an aspect of their own identity as well as its intersection with other social identities such as gender and ethnicity.