The TECTA Program is sponsored and funded by the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and is approved by the Tennessee Department of Human Services and the Tennessee Board of Regents. The TECTA Program is managed by Tennessee State University Center of Excellence for Learning Sciences.

A critical issue facing our nation today stems from the fact that many classroom teachers in Early Childhood Education lack adequate training. This deficit in the professional education of teachers impacts outcomes for children every day. In the state of Tennessee, approximately 65% of preschool-aged children receive some form of routine non-parental care. The Department of Human Services (DHS) licenses 5,042 child care agencies; 43,711 child care providers, assisted by more than 30,000 additional staff members, provide Early Childhood Education and school-age child care for over 349,691 of Tennessee's children. Short, on-the-job-only training typifies the average provider's professional preparation. Some do not even have high school diplomas or GEDs, which results in low average income (around $17,316) and high job turnover rates (around 40%).

In 1991, when federal Child Care Development Block Grant funds ($1.2 million annually) became available to make quality improvements in the child care system, Tennessee allocated one-third of its funding to develop a training system (Wall & Lovell, 1996). The state steering committee determined that, in order to improve the quality of child care, they needed to develop a system that would provide quality training in Early Childhood Education for the current workforce. Survey results indicated fully 87% had NO training; those who had some training had only attended summer conferences or occasional workshops at best.

In the fall of that year, Janet Camp, former Director of Child Care Services for the State of Tennessee, and Dr. Barbara Nye, Executive Director of Tennessee State University's (TSU) Center of Excellence for Research and Policy on Basic Skills, sketched out details of a delivery system that was later to be called Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance, or TECTA for short. The lattice concept of the plan called for an articulation of Early Childhood Education programs among the institutions of higher education in the state to lead from a professional credential, to an associate's degree, to a bachelor's degree, and ultimately, to graduate degrees (Pedersoli-Pinheiro, 1998).

The career lattice:

Unfortunately, teachers who want to pursue higher education face many barriers. The lattice concept of the TECTA system represented a new paradigm for the Early Childhood profession that communicates upward mobility with improved compensation at each step of professional development (Christensen, McDonnell, & Price, 1988). This system encourages many paths toward improved professional recognition. Early Childhood professionals can enter the lattice at levels appropriate to their educational and experiential background, and the TECTA program offers financial support for their training throughout their upward climb.

For many Early Childhood teachers, TECTA Orientation offers an entry point onto the lattice by making available a free series of classes to individuals who currently work with young children in state-regulated facilities. A gateway to academic training especially geared for adult learners, TECTA Orientation provides 30 hours of non-credit bearing instruction about Early Childhood Education in five specializations: family child care, center-based, school-age, infant/toddler, and child care administration. 

Upon completion of any of the TECTA Orientations, students may be eligible for scholarships to pursue Early Childhood credentials, such as the Child Development Associate (CDA), or to seek degrees from accredited institutions of higher education. The TECTA lattice facilitates students' ability to increase their knowledge by taking classes through a coordinated, articulated statewide system of 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education, and between post-secondary certificates and degree programs.

Early Childhood administrators who demonstrate the specific competencies for effective leadership and management can now earn a Tennessee Early Childhood Program Administrator ­Credential (TECPAC). This state credential provides yet another level of recognition as part of Tennessee's quality rating and improvement system.

One way to tell the story of the how the TECTA program has impacted Early Childhood education in Tennessee since its inception in 1992 is in numbers. As of fall 2008:

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