Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance (TECTA)

Promoting Professionalism and High Quality Child Care in Tennessee

TECTA Orientation

The Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance (TECTA) is a statewide program that provides FREE 30-hours of Orientation which is DHS approved training for child care staff and administrators. TECTA Orientation is an academic gateway with a curriculum centered on professional core competencies. Research shows that quality early childhood education plays an important role in preparing children to enter school ready to learn. The key to quality programs is the preparation of personnel with whom young children spend a significant portion of their time. Participation is free to anyone employed in a DHS or DOE licensed program. Certificates of Completion are awarded to those who complete the Orientation training.

Participants may choose from the orientation specializations below:

Administrator - Designed for directors, assistant directors, owners, program coordinators and other administrative staff
Center-Based - Designed for early childhood professionals working with children ages 3 to 5 in child care centers
Family Child Care - Designed for early childhood professionals working with children in a family or group home child care
Infant/Toddler - Designed for early childhood professionals working with children ages birth to 2 years in child care center
School-Age - Designed for early childhood professionals working with school-aged children in child care centers
ACES Orientation ( Building Strong Brains) - Designed for early childhood professionals who have previously completed a TECTA orientation and /or successfully completed 2+hours academic coursework. In this advanced orientation you will learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences and how it relates to brain development, toxic stress, and physical/mental health.
Literacy30: Books and Beyond - This online workshop course is hosted by TECTA @ Chattanooga State Community College. Visit www.tecta.info for registration information.

Orientation Schedules

Enrollment Forms

tecta

Tennessee Child Care Online Training System (TCCOTS)

TCCOTS is an eLearning portal, powered by ProSolutions, which is designed to provide additional child care training options for individuals working in Tennessee Department of Human Services’ licensed child care programs.
Certificates for Training are issued after successfully completing each module. These certificates are recognized by the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) as training hours for all staff employed in licensed child care facilities.

Funding

This project is funded by the Center of Excellence of Learning Sciences at Tennessee State University through a contract with the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

TECTA Accreditation Program

Is your program ready to consider. . . ACCREDITATION?
Accreditation mean operating your childcare program based on nationally set standards verses state licensing
requirements.
Check Yourself:

Does your program strive to work beyond the minimum state licensing standards for staff/training and staff child ratios?
Do you (and staff) have early childhood credentials such as TECTA training, CDA credential, associate's degree or an education or business degree?
Does your staff have work benefits?Are your rooms set up into (centers) for play opportunities such as blocks, dramatic play, creative art, science and cooking, manipulatives, library and puppets?
Do parents participate in your program in any way?
Does your program operate based on written policies to govern the program, staff and parents?

If you can answer "yes" to most of these questions, then you may be already exceeding state licensing and be ready to seek national accreditation for your high quality childcare program!
Interested?
Call (423) 697-2697 for questions.

TECTA Coursework

TECTA Professional Links

TECTA map

Chattanooga State Community College