The recent influx of students to the early childhood concentration at the University of South Florida Polytechnic doesn't have administrators baffled too much. They know two very good reasons for the increase in enrollment.

The first is the push from National Head Start for half of the early childhood teacher workforce to hold bachelor's degrees by 2013.

The second is the result of an innovative program called Scaffold the Scholar, which reaches out to child-care centers in the small, rural communities in central Florida to offer a unique opportunity for professional development in early childhood - scholarships to take courses on the USFP campus and to have the support of specially trained bilingual, bicultural literacy coordinators.

Both reasons have lead more students to take the early childhood concentration in USF Poly's Division of Education this fall, an increase that prompted administrators to add a second section of a class that is typically offered only every other year.

According to Dr. Smita Mathur, assistant professor in the Division of Education, the persistent pressure for higher levels of academic qualifications drives early childhood teachers to seek opportunities for higher education.

"Many teachers will have to go back to school to get the credentials they need to keep their jobs," Mathur said.

As for the second reason for the increased enrollment, Mathur said the Scaffold the Scholar program has been successful in recruiting a hard-to-reach, under-served population of first-generation English language learners/college students.

Mathur started Scaffold the Scholar with her colleague Dr. Rebecca Burns, assistant professor of English for speakers of other languages at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

"We're reaching teachers, for most of whom English is not their primary language, in rural areas and helping them earn credentials and degrees in early childhood education," said Mathur, who specializes in early childhood learning and has conducted extensive research in Florida's migrant communities.

"These teachers understand migrant children, the culture and lifestyle, and are often from farm-working families and have even worked the fields themselves. But they often need help with English language acquisition and literacy. Scaffold the Scholar provides those missing ingredients."

The program operates in tandem with the four-year degree program in education. It promotes language and literacy, ensures college success, and enhances self-esteem and personal empowerment. Students meet literacy coordinators weekly, alternating between individual and group sessions. The literacy coordinator, academic advisor and teacher together make an individual plan for the literacy development and academic success of each teacher.

In January 2011, Mathur and Burns received a $771,000 grant from the Helios Education Foundation to implement the Scaffold the Scholar program over three years. The total project budget exceeds $1.2 million thanks to in-kind support from Redlands Christian Migrant Association, which helps Mathur recruit teachers for the USFP program.

"The initiative is strength-based, evidence-based and culturally responsive, which aligns with the polytechnic vision," says Mathur. "That vision also aligns with a need in the community. I learned what these teachers needed and developed a program around those needs."

Mathur knows the Scaffold the Scholar program will benefit teachers, but she also sees direct and positive academic and social outcomes for preschool aged children and their families.

"The first five years of a child's life are when the brain develops the most," she said. "A qualified teacher who is also culturally competent can meet the children's academic, social and emotional needs during those years and create a pathway to school readiness and academic success."