President's Day Challenge: Be one of 50 champions representing every state where we help children thrive. Donate by midnight on 2/18 to join this nationwide movement for early education. Give Today

teacher in classroom with children

Scholarship Opportunities for Illinois Early Childhood Educators

Policy Manager Mercedes Mondragón shares information on financial aid opportunities for the aspiring early childhood workforce.

Mercedes Mondragón January 21, 2025
  • Policy and Systems
  • Blog
  • Resource

Policymakers in Illinois have launched early care and education workforce scholarship programs in recent years, in an attempt to curb the high rates of staff turnover. At city and state levels, scholarship programs were created with the intent of providing career advancement opportunities to current staff, while also recruiting new members into the workforce. The number of scholarship applications across programs has largely surpassed the amount of financial aid available, underscoring the need to support our early learning workforce. 

Financial aid opportunities for higher education are a necessity for those aspiring to become early childhood educators. To become an early childhood lead teacher in a child care program, Illinois’s licensing standards require at least 6 semester hours/9 quarter hours of college course credit in child development or early childhood. However, child care staff are typically paid near minimum wage, making college courses financially out-of-reach without financial assistance. 

Financial Aid For Early Childhood Educators

Learn more about scholarship opportunities, requirements and timelines.

Learn More

On January 22nd, the Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship (CELWS) will open to applicants on a first come, first serve basis. Applicants must be interested in becoming early childhood educators or must be currently working in a Chicago Early Learning program. This scholarship program covers 100% of tuition costs for individuals seeking: 

  • Associate’s degree 
  • Bachelor’s degree 
  • Endorsements 
  • Gateways’ Credentials 
  • Professional Educator License (PEL) 
  • Basic and Advanced Professional Certificates 

Since the scholarship program covers all tuition costs and provides a $250 book stipend per course, scholarship recipients are required to work in a Chicago Early Learning program for 3 years. For aspiring educators who cannot access the CEWLS scholarship, two other statewide scholarship programs are available. 

The Gateways to Opportunity Scholarship through the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (INCCRRA), is available year-round and provides funding for up to 100% of tuition and fees. It’s available to individuals seeking Gateways credentials, degrees, and a Professional Educator License. Lastly, the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship is also available to applicants across the state. Eligible programs of study are more limited, as ECACE will not cover post-baccalaureate students, and the maximum award amount is $7,500. Due to limited funding for ECACE, the program is currently closed for the 2024-2025 school year, but applications will hopefully open later this summer for the next academic year.  

Start Early and our early childhood partners continue to advocate for continued investments to support our early learning workforce through these scholarship programs, but we can’t do it without you! Join us for our Early Childhood Advocacy Day on March 4th in Springfield! 

About the Author

Mercedes Mondragon_600x600

Mercedes Mondragón

Policy Manager, Illinois Policy

Mercedes Mondragón is a Policy Manager on the Illinois Policy team at Start Early, where she focuses on advocating for improvements to the child care system and alleviating issues faced by the early childhood workforce.

More About Mercedes

More Like This