Due to limited resources (qualified mentors and evaluators, funding) not everyone can be served immediately. Services will be provided based on the following priority levels:

After the enrollment and change form is submitted, EESLPD Office staff will notify the enrolled teacher, site administrator and, if applicable, local NC Pre‐K Contractor and Program Contact to attend a mandatory Orientation and NC Teacher Evaluation Process Training. During these sessions participants will learn more about the programs offered by the EESLPD Office, the mentoring and evaluation processes and the licensure requirements. Local NC Pre‐K Contract Administrators and Program Contacts are not required to participate but strongly encouraged to do so.

No, in 2012 the EESLPD Office expanded the teacher licensure framework to other Early Childhood Education teachers in selected nonpublic settings who hold or are eligible for a Birth‐Through‐ Kindergarten (BK) or Preschool Add‐on License. This expansion happened as a result of the Early Learning Challenge ‐ Race to the Top (RttT) Grant received by North Carolina. Between January 2012 and December 2015 Licensed teachers interested in receiving services must formally enroll with the EESLPD Office in order to be considered for services. Once enrolled, teachers and their directors will be notified about next steps.

Complete the Enrollment and Change Form, found on the Division of Child Development and Early Education’s website: NCPre-K_EESLPD_Enrollmentform

Please be sure that the Enrollment and Change Form is filled out completely and includes an email address and all requested documentation, including official transcripts or a copy of the license. If a teacher does not have a BK license, has another type of license or other state’s license, include a current Plan of Study for the BK license and transcripts of completed coursework. Please mail the Enrollment and Change Form by certified mail. Keep a copy for your personal files. All communication from the EESLPD Office is electronic so it is imperative that an accurate email address is included for the teacher and the site administrator.

The EESLPD Office currently has the capacity to serve up to 1,000 teachers. Mentors and evaluators are individuals employed by DCDEE, or employed through outside entities such as developmental day programs, public schools, Smart Start, Head Start, private child care programs or other employment entities. Mentors must hold a NC Educator’s License. Mentors and Evaluators receive extensive training on all aspects of the NC Educator Effectiveness System (NCEES).

If you currently hold a NC Educator’s License (Standard Professional I or II), as soon as resources are available, an EESLPD mentor will be assigned to teachers with less than a SP II license, including a lateral entry license, and an evaluator will be assigned to all licensed teachers. If you do not hold a NC Educator’s License (BK, Preschool add‐on, K‐6, etc.), you are advised to immediately contact an accredited college or university that offers the NC Birth‐through‐Kindergarten license ‐ see:ncpre-k_approvedbkprogramsnc.pdf and request a Plan of Study for the BK license. Submit your Plan of Study to the EESLPD Office when received from your BK advisor. You must complete a minimum of six semester credit hours annually toward the BK license. Note: You must have at least a BA/BS degree to enroll with the EESLPD Office.

You should also review the Activities for Teachers Waiting for Services document for additional steps you can take and document those steps you complete while waiting for services to begin.

NC General Assembly transferred the former More at Four Pre‐K Program, including the TLU, to DHHS‐ DCDEE on July 1, 2011. More at Four was renamed the NC Pre‐Kindergarten Program. The EESLPD Office collaborates with NCDPI Divisions: Educator Recruitment and Development (Professional Development, Mentoring and the NC Teacher Evaluation Process), NCDPI Licensure Division, Office of Early Learning & HRMS Steering Committee. The TLU was renamed the Early Educator Support, Licensure and Professional Development (EESLPD) Office to reflect the purpose and full range of functions. DHHS replaced the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) as the Local Education Agency (LEA) for licensed teachers employed in nonpublic Early Childhood programs.

The Early Educator Support, Licensure and Professional Development (EESLPD) Office is located in the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Education & Quality Section, Early Education Unit.  The EESLPD Office (formerly the Teacher Licensure Unit (TLU) under the Office of Early Learning, NC DPI) was established in January of 2007 to facilitate the NC Birth‐through‐Kindergarten (BK) Licensure process for NC Pre‐K (former More at Four Pre‐K teachers) working in nonpublic schools (licensed private child care and Head Start programs). In 2012, the EESLPD Office expanded services to selected licensed Early Childhood Education teachers in nonpublic settings: Developmental Day, Head Start and child care programs. The EESLPD Office makes it possible for Early Childhood lead teachers in nonpublic schools to attain and maintain a BK Standard Professional II License (BK SP II), required for all NC Pre‐K & Developmental Day Program lead teachers regardless of the classroom setting—public or nonpublic schools.   Like public school licensed teachers, who access mentoring, evaluation and licensure services through their local education agency (LEA), the licensed teachers in nonpublic Early Childhood programs access the EESLPD Office for those services as their “education agency.”

The EESLPD Office administers teacher support, teacher licensure & required professional development to ensure teachers working in nonpublic schools attain and maintain the NC BK Standard Professional II License. Public school teachers work through their local education agency. Services include

• Beginning Teacher Support Program for initially licensed teachers
• Lateral Entry Teacher Program for teachers without a NC License
• Licensure Renewal for teachers holding the SPII license.

The NC State Board of Education requires any teacher required to hold a NC License for employment purposes (e.g., NC Pre‐K classrooms and NC Developmental Day preschool classrooms) must be mentored (if teacher holds less than the SP II license), formally evaluated, and maintain a professional development plan based on formally assessed needs (Rubric for Evaluating NC Teachers and the NC Professional Teaching Standards).

Early Childhood Education lead teachers who work in or who plan to work in a nonpublic school should enroll if one of the following criteria is met:

• BK Standard Professional II (SP II) License: Teachers are required to maintain licensure status through participation in professional development (ongoing), teacher evaluations (at least two observations and summative evaluation conference annually; three observations and summative evaluation conference in the fifth year of the 5‐year renewal cycle), and development of a Professional Development Plan‐PDP (annually). The EESLPD Office assigns an evaluator to teachers.
  
  
• BK Standard Professional I (SP I) License: Teachers are required to attain a BK SP II License through participation in the Beginning Teacher Support Program (BTSP). All initially licensed teachers (SP I) must participate in this three‐year process, which includes the assignment of an EESLPD Office mentor, evaluator, participation in professional development (ongoing), teacher observations (four times annually), annual summative evaluation conference and development of a Professional Development Plan each year.
  
  
• BA/BS Degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Human Development/Family Studies or Psychology or an unrelated field: As soon teachers are employed as a lead NC Pre‐K or NC Developmental Day preschool teacher they should enroll with the EESLPD Office.
  
  
• Less than a BA/BS degree: If teachers are working toward a BK degree/license, they should enroll after BA/BS degree completion and/or they have attained the BK SP I License.

NC Pre‐K and DD Program lead teachers are required to enroll with the EESLPD Office and will be prioritized for receiving services. Licensed teachers are assigned with highest priority.

Resources are limited, so not everyone with a BA/BS degree is eligible to be served by the EESLPD Office. The EESLPD Office staff will determine whether or not teachers who hold a BA/BS degree are eligible. If teachers are not eligible at the time of enrollment, the EESLPD Office staff will inform them of what requirements are needed to become eligible.

The EESLPD Office is located in the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education in Raleigh.

All NC Pre‐K teachers currently working in a nonpublic school setting who hold a BA/BS degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution (MA/MS Degree, BK SPI, BK SPII or Preschool Add‐on License) are required to enroll with the EESLPD Office.

Preschool teachers in Developmental Day (DD) programs are also required to hold BK licensure to meet NC Developmental Day Program requirements. Like NC Pre‐K teachers, DD program preschool teachers must enroll with the EESLPD Office.

Enrollment is optional for teachers who hold a NC BK, Preschool Add‐on license and work in other Early Childhood programs. For specific information and forms visit the EESLPD Office web site: EESLPD

The EESLPD Office is open to any teacher who is eligible to apply for a NC Lateral Entry BK license or who holds the SP I license and must be mentored and/or evaluated to attain and maintain the SP II license.