PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Commonwealth's Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) has awarded Berkshire Community College a Career Pathways Grant totaling $257,331 for the 2022 fiscal year. 

 

The grant funds tuition, fees and support for those pursuing a degree in higher education while working in the field of early education and care.  

 

The grant is designed to reduce barriers to enrollment and completion by providing coherent and stackable courses for credentialing and degree attainment. It also addresses challenges in the early education field, including certified staffing shortages. 

 

Funding supports: 

 

"This grant changes lives through coursework and through transferable skills that impact the whole person. We have seen students achieve their academic, professional and personal dreams because of the help these funds provided," said Alicia Ginsberg, Early Childhood Career Pathway Grant Coordinator at BCC. "Their growth is truly inspiring." 

 

Recipients of grant funds at BCC have earned teacher certification, lead teacher certification and director certification.  

 

The EEC Career Pathways Grant has supported early childhood educators at BCC since 2019. In just three years, the grant has supported 160 students who completed a total of 1,269 credits.