HEV0872 – Teacher Aide (Preschool) is a 150-hour Postsecondary Adult Vocational (PSAV) course carrying zero credit hours. It is Occupational Completion Point C of Florida's 600-hour Early Childhood Education program.
This course marks a shift in role. The first two OCPs prepare a person to care for and support young children; this one prepares them to work as an instructional aide — supporting a lead teacher's program, taking responsibility for small groups, implementing planned curriculum, and contributing to assessment. The distinction is between being present with children and carrying part of the instructional load.
Content covers implementing curriculum designed by others — understanding a lesson plan's intent well enough to deliver it faithfully and adapt it in the moment; small-group instruction; and individualizing support for children who need more or different than the group activity provides.
Assessment becomes more formal: administering and recording observational assessments, contributing to developmental screening, maintaining portfolios, and understanding how assessment data drives instructional decisions. Florida's VPK Assessment and school readiness measures are covered where relevant.
The course also covers working as part of a teaching team — communication with the lead teacher, role clarity, and the professional judgment about when to act independently and when to defer. Supporting children with disabilities in inclusive settings receives real attention, since aides frequently work most closely with children who need additional support, including those with Individual Educational Plans or Individualized Family Support Plans.
The course is offered at approximately 17 Florida institutions, predominantly district technical colleges and career centers: Charlotte Technical College, Daytona State, Fort Myers Technical College, Immokalee Technical College, Lake Technical College, Lorenzo Walker Technical College, North Florida College, Orange Technical College, Pinellas Technical College, Radford M. Locklin Technical College, Sarasota County Technical Institute, Suwannee-Hamilton Technical Center, Sheridan Technical College, Southwest Technical College, Traviss Technical College, and Withlacoochee Technical College.
Public school districts employ teacher assistants across prekindergarten and ESE settings, and district positions generally offer better compensation and benefits than private child care — a meaningful consideration for students planning a career rather than a first job.
Florida's Early Childhood Education program (FLDOE program number E300100, CIP 0419070913) is 600 clock hours across four Occupational Completion Points, each 150 hours and each separately employable, so a student can work while continuing:
Every component carries zero credit hours and is measured in clock hours. The FLDOE framework sets basic skills levels of Mathematics 9 and Communications 9, normally demonstrated by TABE, and the career and technical student organization is SkillsUSA.
Completing all courses in the program and meeting additional requirements — including a 480-hour direct work experience requirement with children five years old or younger while enrolled — qualifies a student for the FLDOE Early Childhood Professional Certificate (ECPC) and eligibility for a DCF Staff Credential. The work experience requirement runs concurrently with coursework and needs planning; classroom hours do not satisfy it.
The program is approved by the Florida Department of Children and Families as meeting the training requirements for child care personnel and preschool teachers under Rule 65C-22.001(6), F.A.C. Students should confirm their institution's program holds current DCF approval — the coursework serves its purpose only if it does.
Because students work with children, programs require Level 2 background screening under Chapter 435, F.S. before placement, and a disqualifying record prevents participation. Prospective students with any history should raise it with the program before enrolling rather than after.
Florida law requires any person who knows or suspects child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to report it to the Florida Abuse Hotline (1-800-96-ABUSE). The duty attaches to the individual, not the employer, and cannot be discharged by telling a supervisor. Failure to report carries criminal penalty.
This is clock-hour CTE and does not carry college credit or transfer as general education. Florida does maintain a statewide articulation agreement for Early Childhood Education awarding college credit toward an A.S. in Early Childhood Education for specified credentials — a meaningful pathway for students who later pursue a degree. Confirm current terms with the receiving institution, since articulated credit depends on the credential earned.
Worth understanding: this program prepares a student for teacher aide work, but public school district paraprofessional positions carry their own qualification standards under federal and state rules — typically an associate degree, 60 college credits, or passing a formal paraprofessional assessment. This PSAV credential does not automatically satisfy them. Students targeting district employment specifically should confirm the district's requirement, since the pathway may differ from the private child care pathway this program is built around.
A recurring theme: an aide implements a program rather than designing it, and the professional skill is knowing when to act independently and when to check. Aides who overstep create friction with lead teachers; aides who defer on everything are not useful. The course addresses this directly because it is the most common source of difficulty in the role.
Generated August 31, 2026 · Updated August 31, 2026