Working in a preschool or childcare center, you will shape the lives of young children. As a strong early childhood professional, you will work closely with children and their families to provide play-based learning that supports the development of the whole child. You will have the opportunity to nurture young children as they imagine, experiment and discover new concepts daily.

1. Experienced faculty members, with classroom teaching experience provide students with extensive support in achieving learning goals.
2. You will have many observation hours in local childcare centers, which bring classroom instruction to life.
3. You will have access to developmentally appropriate early childhood instructional materials, which are integrated into college classes in our Hands-on Learning Laboratory.

Students will:

• demonstrate a firm foundation of knowledge in child development
• understand essential concepts of developmentally appropriate practices in teaching young children
• understand and value the importance of children's diverse families and communities, and how to use that knowledge to foster respectful, reciprocal relationships with children and their families
• understand the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment, and be able to effectively use developmentally appropriate observation and assessment practices
• design, implement and evaluate developmentally appropriate curriculum and environments for young children
• understand and uphold ethical standards and other professional guidelines in the field of early childhood, and engage in, practice that is both collaborative and reflective in college classrooms and through extensive field assignments
• demonstrate college level proficiency in written and oral communication, critical thinking, and analytical, mathematical, and scientific reasoning

EDU 203 (Fall semster only) and EDU 204 (Spring semester only) are our “student teaching” courses, and are designed to be taken sequentially during your final academic year in the program.

Students will engage in nearly 250 hours of field work during the course of the program. A background check, medical clearances, and fingerprinting may be required.

Students in this program often successfully enter the workforce immediately after graduation.

Students will create a professional teaching portfolio, which will be useful at job interviews.

Admission to this program requires that students be high school graduates or have high school equivalency diplomas (HSEs). If students are home schooled, they may be eligible for admission.

While the A.A.S. degree leads to immediate employment, SUNY Orange students have successfully transferred. Please check with your intended transfer school for details.

Career opportunities exist in the following fields:

• center director
• head teacher (non-public settings)
• teacher assistant
• family child care provider
• early childhood business owner
• nanny or au pair
• early intervention specialist
• recreation leadership
• home visitor
• childcare resource and referral
• curriculum consultant

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A portion of the program can be taken online. All education courses are offered only on the Middletown campus, with the exception of EDU 107, which is also offered in Newburgh. One evening class will be required to complete the program. General education courses are offered on both the Middletown and Newburgh campuses.