FAIRFIELD — People working full-time jobs far beyond Fairfield will find it easier next year to enroll in early childhood education classes at Kennebec Valley Community College.

Beginning in January, the college will expand its geographic reach by offering its associate degree program through what it calls “hybridized” online classes.

Martha Naber, education program coordinator at KVCC, said the new program will allow students to complete most of their academic work online and attend Saturday classes on campus.

The Saturday sessions, Naber said, will accommodate early child care providers and others who work weekdays, as well as those who live far from campus.

“The majority of the classwork will be online, so people are not traveling a lot, but they are coming occasionally and getting a sense that they a member of a class and that we are here as resources for them,” Naber said.

A five-year, $250,000 grant from the Sam L. Cohen Foundation will fund the program.

Cohen, a southern Maine businessman, started the foundation in 1983. According to the foundation’s website, over the years it “has supported programs and services for children” and seeks to strengthen “the community through the support of health, educational, religious, and art and cultural institutions.”

“They identified this as a particular interest of theirs and that is exciting,” Naber said.

The Maine Community College System Foundation secured the grant, which is designed to improve the education and skill levels of providers of early childhood education in Maine and to be accessible to those already working in the profession for whom distance and scheduling obstacles make online classes ideal.

When the pilot program gets under way in January, Naber anticipates having 24 students enrolled from Kennebec, Somerset, Knox and Waldo counties. She said she does not anticipate having any difficulty filling the two-dozen slots.

Beginning in summer 2013, Naber said the goal is to offer the program to students statewide.

When the five-year grant expires, the program is expected to be financially self-sustaining, Naber said.

According to a statement from KVCC, students who are employed at child care facilities will perform practicums at their respective work sites. Mentors approved by KVCC will visit the students six times each semester to observe, offer guidance and set goals.

“They will get direct feedback from somebody throughout the semester without faculty having to literally drive around the state to these sites,” Naber said. “That’s a very unique approach to doing practicums.”

According to Naber, students who generally enroll in the early childhood education associate degree program are either recent high school graduates, people who are re-training after having been laid off, or those employed at a child care facility who wish to obtain a degree in the field.

Courses offered in the four-semester program include Introduction to Early Childhood; Observing & Recording Children’s Behavior; Introduction to Psychology; Health, Safety, and Nutrition; Literacy and Literature for Young Children; Supervisory Management; and Developmental Psychology.

To get a degree, candidates must earn a minimum 2.0 grade point average.

Naber said it’s gratifying knowing that graduates entering the workforce “understand children and provide quality child care.”

Those interested in applying may contact [email protected] or 453-5131.

Beth Staples — 861-9252

[email protected]