Virginia

The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation administers the Project Pathfinders scholarship to early childhood professionals in preschool and child care settings. Recipients can use the scholarship toward community college coursework and credentials, and they must set a specific credentialing goal to be eligible for additional funds to cover the costs of books and fees. Priority is given to applicants working with at-risk children (e.g., those eligible for child care subsidies, qualifying for free or reduced lunch, or participating in public preschool programs like Head Start or Virginia Preschool Initiative). Pathfinder awards are applied to a recipient’s account after other financial aid and grants (such as Pell grants) have been applied. Funds for the program first became available in the 2019–20 biennial budget enacted by Governor Ralph Northam and the 2018 General Assembly.

Sources:

Virginia Early Childhood Education. (n.d.). Project Pathfinders.

Virginia Early Childhood Education. (n.d.). Project Pathfinders: Overview of Scholarship Opportunity for the Early Education Workforce.

Virginia Early Childhood Education. (n.d.). Project Pathfinders Archive.

In July 2020, Governor Ralph Northam signed SB578/HB1012 to give Virginia’s Board of Education (BOE) and Department of Education (DOE) joint responsibility for overseeing and administering early care and education across the state. This created a defined point of accountability and coordinationfor early education programs effective July 1, 2021. Under this arrangement, the Department of Education became responsible for child care licensing and administration of the state's child care subsidy program.

Moving all early childhood programming to one agency improves efficiency and allows for better alignment of eligibility, monitoring, and quality improvement activities (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2023).

Sources:
Virginia Department of Education (2020). Child Care and Development Fund Plan for Virginia.
Early Childhood Care & Education | Virginia Department of Education 
Bipartisan Policy Center (2023). Integrated Efficient Early Care and Education Systems

In 2019, Virginia created the Teacher Recognition Program (now RecognizeB5) to promote the retention and financial well-being of early educators across the state. Through this program, teachers working at least 30 hours per week in public-school or community-based settings serving children birth to age five could receive a payment of $1,500 if they remained in their program for at least 8 months. Educators in all Virginia counties were eligible to participate in the program, but in the state's most populous county, Fairfax County, there were not enough funds to provide a payment to all teachers. This created an opportunity for researchers from the University of Virginia to study the impact of a bonus program on teacher retention and well-being. Using a randomized controlled trial, researchers learned that the bonuses did in fact reduce turnover and increase financial well-being among participating educators. The bonuses cut turnover among educators in child care centers in half, from 30% to 15%, and nearly all educators (98%) reported that the funds helped them meet personal or family needs. The program has since expanded; it provided educators with $3,000 bonuses during the 2022–23 school year.

Sources:
Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. (2022). RecognizeB5 Overview.
Bassok, D., Doromal, J., Michie, M., & Wong, V. C. (2021). The Effects of Financial Incentives on Teacher Turnover in Early Childhood Settings: Experimental Evidence from Virginia.
Bassok, D., Shapiro, A., Michie, M., & Fares, I. (2021). The Importance of Financial Supports for Child Care Teachers during the Pandemic: New Findings from Virginia.

Founded in 2009, Virginia’s Department of Education’s Virginia Longitudinal Data System (VLDS ) is a P-20 longitudinal data systemthat includes pre-K screening data and early childhood program data. The federated system (i.e., a data sharing system that does not consolidate all data in one warehouse) was developed with the Virginia Institute of Technology to merge demographic, program, and individual data while leaving private data inside agencies’ firewalls. The individual data is deidentified with a unique identifier. Although the VLDS has a research agenda and series of papers, data is only available internally for use by agencies, including the Virginia Department of Education, Department of Social Services, and Office of Children’s Services, or approved researchers.

The system is funded through federal Statewide Longitudinal Data System grants.

Sources:
VCU Performance Management Group. (2021). Virginia Longitudinal Data System Research Agenda.
LiBetti, A. & Fu, R. (2022). A State Scan of Early Learning Assessments and Data Systems. New America.