Seneca Arts & Learning Center
Early childhood caregivers are the building blocks of learning within our program. They help lay the foundation for education as they commit their time, effort, and expertise to provide everything that a student needs to obtain a high-quality education.
Teaching in early childhood is a demanding profession that requires lifelong learning. Seneca Arts and Learning Center (SALC) is very proud of the achievements of our dedicated and hardworking employees that have committed themselves to the early childhood field. The benefits of strong, qualified, and dedicated early childhood educators play a significant role in the betterment of our community and the lives of our children and families we serve.
Seneca Arts and Learning Center has partnered with Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) and five other tribes to create a program called H.O.P.E.E. which translates, Honoring our People Through Equity and Education. This allows our teachers the opportunity to earn a fully funded early childhood education credential while accessing additional student success supports including scholarships and incentives. Our educators can obtain an Associates, Bachelor’s or Child Development Associate (CDA) credential in Early Childhood. With this collaboration our educators will have access to individualized advising support, local laptops, lending library, tutoring opportunities, and many incentives.
Our center also partners with Quality Stars of Western New York and Chataqua Opportunities in which they support our Early Childhood program initiative. We currently have several staff members qualified for the Educational Incentive Program (EIP) or the B5 CUNY-SUNY workforce scholarship through SUNY Empire State University.
The minimum qualification for early childhood teachers in the state of New York is a CDA. Through assistance with scholarships and grant opportunities SALC has 26 staff members who currently hold this credential. By collaborating with BMCC, Quality Stars, and SUNY Empire State University, SALC is proud to announce with excitement that 31 SALC staff members are enrolled in the summer semester earning Child Development Associate credentials, Associates, Bachelors, and Master’s Degrees in early childhood.
Bay Mills Community College is located in Brimley Michigan, and their mission is to meet the educational needs of a variety of students on campus and virtually. They are chartered by the federally recognized Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan, which is a fully accredited tribal college through Higher Learning Commission. BMCC mission is to prepare students to become productive, self-confident, and responsible members of an increasingly diverse workforce by providing them quality educational opportunities that supports and maintains the viability and sustainability of the language, culture, and way of life, while promoting and emphasizing lifelong learning.
As and Early Learning Childcare Center we are committed to providing an educational working environment for our teachers and one component we thought was of importance was extending the opportunity for growth and collaboration, which is why we promote the power of education. This opportunity to offer affordable, culturally relevant, accessible, and high-quality educational opportunities to the Seneca Nation and other community partners is a direct benefit we all share as a tribal community.
If you are on your way to becoming an early childhood educator, you are heading towards a highly impactful career. Early childhood educators are important figures in our children’s life and have the power to make a real difference in the future of our next generation.
