INDIANAPOLIS — Silvia Aguilar teaches four and five-year-olds at A Child’s World.
She’s a former apprentice at the Early Education Career Institute (EECI), which specializes in preparing students for the Child Development Associate (CDA) exam.
EECI has set over 150 apprentices up for success and created over 120 childcare slots to this day.
Once students complete the program, they receive a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor and a transcript with 21 college credits.
“I feel like it has opened a lot of doors for me actually. I didn’t know if I wanted to go to college and now I am going to college," Aguilar said.
It’s a similar story for Kristel Ramirez, who also works at A Child’s World.
“I definitely want to do something involving children, something involving schools," Ramirez said.
Ramirez teaches her class of three-year-old students their ABCs, 123s, fine motor skills and more.
Her favorite part of the day is being greeted by her kids.
“Sometimes you can have a really bad day, and you can just come in here and walk into the room, and the kids just shout your name. They come to you running," she said.
EECI apprentices receive transportation, housing and childcare through the program.
Each apprentice was granted $3425 from the DWD Work Readiness Grant for tuition, and many also received $2800 from the National Apprentice Fund.
However, the institute no longer qualifies for this support.
“Hopefully, in the future we can get more funding so other people can get the opportunity like we did," Ramirez said.
