Vanguard Is First in OC to Offer Integrated PK-3 Teaching Credential Program
Vanguard University is one of just five institutions in the state to receive approval from the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing to offer the pre-kindergarten (PK) to third grade Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential program during the 2024-25 academic year.
Helping to answer California’s call for 12,000-15,000 early childhood education teachers by 2025-26, this program allows Vanguard undergraduate students to earn a credential to teach PK-3 classes in four years while pursuing their bachelor’s degree, saving the additional one to three years typically needed to complete a credential program. The curriculum provides VU students the specialized training to shape the academic, social, and emotional development of young learners.
Graduate students can also complete the PK-3 credential at Vanguard, as VU is the first PK-3 program in California to be offered completely online to accommodate the needs of adults and mid-career professionals like paraeducators as well.
The PK-3 ECE credential program, led by ECE Chair Seon Chun-Burbank, Ed.D., will complement the integrated multiple subject (elementary) and single subject (secondary) accelerated credential programs already offered by Vanguard University’s School of Education.
“At Vanguard University, we are centered on preparing teachers to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of children through our philosophy of education for love and wisdom,” said Dr. Hittenberger. “Being selected as one of the first universities to offer the new PK-3 accelerated program is not only an honor, but also demonstrates the wisdom of our faculty to pioneer this new program for the state while empowering our students and addressing the acute shortage of teachers in our region.”
In 2023, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing awarded VU a $233,099 grant for early childhood education, enabling VU to fast track the development of the curriculum of the PK-3 Credential program, addressing a major need within Orange County’s higher education landscape.
For more than 50 years, Vanguard University has built a strong reputation for providing effective teacher education programs, and demand for its graduate education credential offerings has grown consistently. In the four years since Vanguard launched its Integrated Teacher Education Programs in elementary education and secondary education in the content areas of English, STEM, and Social Science, enrollment in the accelerated program has tripled in size. Now, with the addition of the early childhood education credential and a special education credential also to become available shortly, the university anticipates a similar demand.
