EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND Camp Fire First Texas has a long and successful history of strengthening early childhood education and setting children in Fort Worth on a path to academic success. Its work to prepare children for kindergarten began in 2005 with the Camp Fire School Readiness Program (CFSRP), a researchbased initiative designed to strengthen children’s school readiness by improving the quality of the early childhood centers participating in the program. The program provides professional development and individual coaching/mentoring focused on teaching practices that improve language and socialemotional skills among children age 0-5. CFSRP supports early education programs that feed into the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD). In 2020-2021, Camp Fire expanded its work to support early childhood development with the first cohort of the Early Education Apprenticeship Program (EEAP). EEAP is the first early childhood apprenticeship in the state of Texas. It facilitates a career and educational pathway for early childhood educators by combining paid, onthe-job learning with coaching from experienced educators and extensive professional development and professional certificate over a course of one to two years, as appropriate for each apprentice’s background and circumstances.
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Executive Summary CAMP FIRE SCHOOL READINESS & EARLY EDUCATION APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM | 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR EVALUATION REPORT
