The University of Arizona has announced a four-year, $1.55 million grant from the Helios Education Foundation to redesign the early childhood teacher preparation program in its College of Education.

Through the CREATE (Communities as Resources in Early Childhood Teacher Education) partnership, the college will work to address concerns that educators are too detached from their students' communities and that the assets and resources families bring to the classroom often are underutilized or ignored, while also engaging teachers in its three partner districts, Flowing Wells, Sunnyside, and Tucson Unified. Among other things, the redesigned program is expected to spark new partnerships among early learning centers, better engage families and communities in literacy and language-learning initiatives, aid teachers in developing a greater awareness of the historical and cultural contexts of those communities, and help children develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others.

Other key features of the redesigned program include a focus on storytelling as a way to boost literacy and an online and in-person community center that features early childhood education resources. UA College of Education faculty members already have begun to redesign the curriculum and are planning to evaluate the initiative along the way, making changes when necessary.

"What we're trying to do is to really support [new] teachers so that they may create spaces where they can build collaborations among children, families, and key community stakeholders," said Iliana Reyes, a UA associate professor of teaching, learning, and sociocultural studies. "Too often, we are thinking about what we need to do in the classroom, and teachers don't have the opportunity to make those spaces and create those relationships."