Boudreau is on a Quest to Teach Future ECE Educators

Karla Boudreau said she was surprised 20 years ago when she started working in a child care center in Fitchburg, MA. After being there a year, she watched about 30 members of the staff come and go.

“It bothered me,” she recalled, “that others working in the center had little, if any, experience in the field and some of them lacked enthusiasm.”

What a contrast to the early childhood education students who came to the classroom from Montachusett Regional Vocational High School (Monty Tech) for their practicum work.

When Boudreau saw how eager the young people were to work with kids, she decided to take her career to a higher level so she could work with students who were training to be early childhood educators. And she was well equipped to fill this role since she had already earned a B.A. in early childhood education and worked as a kindergarten teacher. Boudreau embarked on an 18-year quest to teach the next generation of early childhood educators. Her journey took her to two vocational schools, before she wound up at Monty Tech, where she’s been for the past four years.

At Monty Tech, Boudreau’s students learn the basics of early childhood education and plan the curriculum at an on-site preschool, as well as child care centers nearby.

So far, the program has focused on helping students earn the Massachusetts Department of Early Childhood Education and Care teacher certification. But Boudreau is thrilled at the prospect next year of helping her students work toward earning a Child Development Associate (CDA®) credential.

“The CDA will be the next step in improving our program,” she said. She knows it will help her students take their skills to the highest level they can.