The Early Childhood Care & Education pathway is one of two pathways in the Education and Training Cluster.

The focus of this cluster is planning, managing and providing education and training services, and related learning support services such as administration, teaching/training, administrative support, and professional support services. There are two pathway options available depending on the availability of internship experiences in the school system. The first option focuses on early childhood care and education for any student looking for employment in early childhood education and services. Students learn appropriate practices for working with young children, as the grow physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Many of the high schools have an onsite preschool lab where students can apply the skills and knowledge they are learning to real world settings as the third course in the pathway sequence. The second pathway option where internship experiences are not an option allows students to take a Curriculum & Instruction course as the third course in the pathway. This pathway culminates with an opportunity for students to take the MAVCC, AAFCS, NOCTI end of pathway assessment or to take the CDA Council end of pathway assessment and to potentially earn a Child Development Associate certificate.