Canton H.S. preschool program prepares future educators amid Michigan teacher shortage

At 3 and 4 years old, they are Canton High School's youngest students.

But they're not taking algebra or advanced literature, they're enjoying story hour and working on their fine and gross motor skills, all under the care of about eight to 10 high school students.

The several dozen preschoolers who attend the Kiddie Kampus at Plymouth-Canton Educational Park, a massive high school campus in Canton that houses three high schools, choose from a buffet of activities each day: Painting, playing with clay, blocks and more. On an October day, two 4-year-olds in one classroom enthusiastically wielded plastic hammers, hammering golf tees into bright orange pumpkins.

"When I was a child, I had really bad social anxiety and I don't want other kids to grow up with that," said Salma Gothamy, a junior at Plymouth High School. "And I just I want to be a closer to the community."

The high school students aren't quite employees at the preschool, but they're learning with the hope that someday they might find a career related to early childhood education or teaching. In a state where leaders are looking to aggressively cultivate new prospects to work in public education, officials say Plymouth-Canton's programs and others like it are a winning deal for everyone: for the young kids who get individualized attention, for the older kids who advance a little further into a career and for the state, which stands to gain more qualified educators.

Kiddie Kampus, and the corresponding high school career technical program open to the campus' students, has been around for at least a decade, but Michigan education officials in recent years have placed an added emphasis on two credential paths students can take when they go through the class, the Michigan YDA and CDA credentials.

Cheryl Bindus, who teaches the high school students theory about education, childhood development and early childhood education, said the preschoolers and high schoolers every year develop strong bonds. When she's pitching the program to high school students, she tells them about the dire need in the state for qualified educators and child care teachers.

"Through the state of Michigan, we really need the brightest and best," she said. "I say, 'Try it now. Come here. It's free. You can come in you will learn about it. You get to practice.' "

Need for more educators

A study from Michigan State University's Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, published in January, reported 1,802 vacant teaching positions in the 2021-22 school year, an increase from 1,519 in 2020-21. The report notes that vacancies are likely underreported. And in child care, 20 counties in Michigan are day care deserts, with few options for families.

To combat vacancies, Michigan's leaders have piloted a number of "grow your own" programs, a way for staff members already working at schools — but not as teachers — to find a path to getting their teaching certification.

In 2021, the state created a grant program for younger, prospective educators as a part of a program called "Future Proud Michigan Educator." The program aimed to, among other purposes, build on existing career and technical education programs.

And over the past five years, as state leaders considered expanding preschool options for families, the Michigan Department of Education also worked to revamp career and technical education programs, like the one in Canton.

Candace Vinson, a career and technical education consultant with the Michigan Department of Education, said the department wanted to strengthen pathways to teacher certification, even starting in high school.

"For us, when we were looking at industry credentials for education, you know, your mind naturally goes to teacher certification," she said. "But we're not about to certify high school students as teachers. But what our high school students can do and they can do it very effectively, is mentor the younger generation and learn from a teacher who is their mentor."

Instead, the state has urged high school students in education programs to obtain one of two credentials, each of which requires hundreds of hours of training and work experience with children.

Those credentials are:

• The Michigan YDA credential, which requires 120 hours of training and 480 hours of work/volunteer experience with youths. The YDA aligns with PK-12 education programs, Vinson said. The credential then could be used to help make students more attractive to prospective employers.

• The CDA credential requires 120 hours of instruction and 480 hours of work with children ages 3 to 5. The CDA meets the requirements in Michigan to work as an assistant teacher in the state's free preschool program, and an assistant teacher in HeadStart.

In the 2021-22 school year, 44 students in Michigan earned one of those credentials, Vinson said. But now these programs appear to be growing. Now, 1,500 students are enrolled online to begin the journey to earning their credentials. The state is providing grants to cover the cost of both credentials.

On the Kiddie Kampus

Many of the high school juniors and seniors on Canton's Kiddie Kampus said they were interested in a career in education. And they appreciate the chance to try it out so early, to figure out if they really like working with children, particularly young children.

Gothamy, for example, wants to be a child psychiatrist, and has outlined her path to make that happen — from a program at Schoolcraft College for two years to a university and then to medical school.

Emma Heenan, a Salem High School junior, said she has long loved working with children, and wants to pursue the CDA credential, then go to college to study elementary education to become a kindergarten teacher. Heenan, on one particular day, helped a 3-year-old crawl through a tube on the ground then walk across a small balance beam.

"I want to be a huge advocate for all my children, all the children I will teach," she said. "That's what I love. And I think it's very important. ... I've had bad teachers and I want to be a great teacher."

Bindus has seen many students go through the program. One started out wanting to be a high school teacher and now wants to teach preschool, she said. And his passion has grown since beginning the classes at Plymouth-Canton, giving up his homeroom time to work with the children.

"He wants to create another playground out here," she said.

Teachers are also present during the day care program, supervising the high school students and children. Stations to play in the classroom are set up intentionally, so preschoolers can begin to make choices on their own, experimenting with independence. Lynn Weber, the teacher in one of the rooms, said the hands-on experience can really make a difference.

"Once they begin to learn a lot more about development of early childhood, and they understand it more and then they have the hands-on experience, I think that's when they really decide, OK, this is what I want to do," she said.

Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Plymouth-Canton's Kiddie Kampus give students hands-on experience