Elizabeth City State Offers New Birth-to-Kindergarten Degree Program

Elizabeth City State Offers New Birth-to-Kindergarten Degree Program 

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.
Beginning this fall, Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is offering a new bachelor’s of science degree in education — birth to kindergarten.
University officials say the program will appeal to numerous child-care providers, recent high school graduates, community college graduates and teachers currently working in elementary schools. The new program is designed to meet the developmental needs of children between birth and the pre-school years. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction determined special knowledge and skills are needed to adequately serve these children. The new program at ECSU also meets standards set by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
The birth-to-kindergarten program is a 127-credit-hour program that comes with recommendation for the North Carolina teaching licensure.
Field experiences are included in the curriculum. Students in the program have a reference point by observing ECSU’s Laboratory School that serves pre-school children. It earned an outstanding five-star rating by state evaluators and it serves children age three to five years old. The ECSU Laboratory School is also nationally accredited.

— Associated Press