Mayor Karen Bass' Office to Celebrate Childhood Education Program

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - City officials will celebrate an early childhood education program, launched in 2021 under former Mayor Eric Garcetti's administration, with a commencement ceremony Tuesday at Los Angeles Trade Technical-College.

Mayor Karen Bass' Office of Economic Opportunity will host the ceremony for participants in the Early Childhood Education-Student Advancement Program at 5 p.m. The celebration Tuesday is intended to recognize the success and continuing growth of ECE-SAP, which recruits and trains early-childhood educators.

"We are thrilled to celebrate the growth and success of the Early Childhood Education-Student Advancement Program," Bass said in a statement. "This program has educated and inspired more than 200 community college students over the past two years."

Additionally, the event will highlight the integration and expansion of the Sesame 3G Mentoring initiative with ECE-SAP, where seniors mentor high school and college students, who in turn mentor preschoolers.

"We're additionally delighted that a newer component of ECE-SAP -- the Sesame 3G program -- has proven to be an asset to our community, fostering deep connections across generations," Bass said.

Created in partnership with Los Angeles Community College District and the Child Development Consortium of Los Angeles, ECE-SAP is intended to increase the number of early-childhood educators through recruitment, coaching and certification, specifically in working with infants and toddlers. The program offers mentorship guidance, financial awards, paid internship opportunities and career workshops to support students.

Dubbed the Co-Generational Connection Program (CCPro), the 3G initiative began as a pilot with five triads in 2022. It will now be expanding to include 30 three-person teams in its next cohort, engaging 90 participants.

"We are very excited that our collaboration with the ECE-SAP program has been so successful that it has led to this expansion," Lewis Bernstein, founder and president of Sesame 3G, said in a statement. "By adapting our overall goals of three-generation engagement and mentorship to meet Los Angeles' need for early-childhood educators, our Sesame 3G program helps build a community of support."

"This program addresses the needs not only of the preschoolers and fosters the development of a new generation of early-childhood professionals, but also provides an outlet for retired educators to give back and improve the field," Bernstein added.

During the program's most recent run from 2023-2024, data collection has demonstrated positive impacts for three cohorts in the program. A preview of these results will be presented during the commencement.

The Sesame 3G Mentoring Program has been conducted at several locations across the United States since 2021, including multiple New York City venues and at the University of Texas at Austin, and has plans to expand nationwide.