NJ Teacher Urges Students to Choose Career in ECE

Carrin Bachowski said she knew her calling very early on in life.

“As a child, I always knew I wanted to work with children,” Bachowski said. But she wasn’t sure exactly how. She began figuring it out 13 years ago after getting her B.A. in psychology and sociology, then taking a position as an assistant director in a child care center.

Two years later, she received her teaching certification and became one of the first kindergarten teachers at a new charter school in Camden, NJ.

“That experience plus some time at the school’s child care center ignited my passion for producing better-educated and better-trained early childhood professionals,” she said.

Bachowski began pursuing this goal as an early childhood educator at Sterling High School in Somerdale, NJ. For the past nine years, she has worked with the state’s Career and Technical Education Partnership to revamp Sterling’s child development program and increase offerings from one course to five, including a seminar that she teaches herself. Her students at Sterling High progress from theory to practice while making their way through the program.

Experience in a preschool laboratory classroom gives them insights into early childhood curriculum models, assessment and observation, children’s well-being and health. Along the way, they get the chance to earn some credits at Camden County College. At the end, they compile all their work into a portfolio that follows the professional standards of the Child Development Associate (CDA®) credential.

And the standards of Sterling’s program are so high that it has been designated a Choice School Program that students in other districts may attend. This speaks to the program’s success and to the sense of passion Bachowski has brought to it over the years. It’s a passion she hopes to pass on to all of the students she trains.

Despite all she’s already achieved, she said, “I’m determined to further enhance the program offerings at Sterling High and better prepare students who plan to pursue a career in early childhood education.”

Carrin Bachowski is a Professional Development Specialist (PDS), teacher and a Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA Adviser) in Somerdale, NJ.