Ivy Tech Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ivy Tech Community College, received a $21.9 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to expand training programs for early childhood education, the college announced Dec. 5.
With the three-year grant, Ivy Tech plans to invest in programs and partnerships that will increase the number of early childhood educators in Indiana.
A 2020 report from the Indiana Early Learning Advisory Committee found that Indiana is projected to have a shortage of over 8,200 childcare workers by 2030. That deficit would be greatest in Marion County, according to the report.
By 2027, Ivy Tech hopes to more than double enrollment in the college’s early childhood education programs and grant nearly 2,000 credentials and degrees in the field, the college said in a news release.
Ivy Tech intends to use the grant money to create more early childhood microcredentials, which are short and focused training programs on topics such as health, safety and nutrition, and child development.
The college also plans to partner with state agencies to launch apprenticeship programs in early childhood education and improve transfer pathways so that students with an early childhood associate degree can eventually earn a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
For adults now working in the field, Ivy Tech wants to develop early childhood education assessments that will make it easier for those employees to go back to school for specific skills.
Ivy Tech also will explore adding a childcare center that’s free for student parents. It would be staffed by early childhood education students through the national Kids on Campus program.
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org or on Instagram/X /Bluesky @clairerafford.
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