ECP Overview

Early childhood education (ECE) is a broad term used to describe any type of educational program that serves children before they are old enough to enter kindergarten.

Early Childhood Program (ECP) (center or preschool) attend to the needs of infants, toddlers, preschool children (birth – five), and school children outside of school hours (before or after care) by persons other than their parents.

An Early Childhood Educator is a person who works with young children and their families – birth through five – in child care centers and preschool programs.

ECP Director is responsible for the daily operations of the program. They ensure a safe and educational environment for young children, manage teaching staff, implement curricula in coordination with teachers, communicate with parents, and uphold the ECP’s reputation.

Staff is classified as a group of employees, charged with carrying out the work at an ECP. (i.e. teacher assistant, secretary, food service, bus driver, janitor, etc.)

ECP Opening Reports are used to collect important information about each program across the division.  It is important that you accurately enter all the information requested on the electronic dashboard.  The opening report includes the following areas:

  • Program information
  • Contact information
  • Teacher/Staff Information
  • Enrollment Information
  • Special Needs Information
  • Family Information

Who is counted in the ECP Opening Report?

  • Preschool children ages 2½ – 4 years old in school or church settings
  • Children in centers with a combination of children from birth – 5 years old

Children 4-years old and under: When in a school or church setting, ALL of the children in that program must be counted in the ECP Opening Report.

Stand alone PK or PK/K classrooms are counted under the PK-12 regular Opening Report.

3-year old children are NOT to be in a PK or PK/K classroom due to state guidelines.

If you have ANY questions, please contact your Union Early Childhood Associate Director.