Release time is a very important part of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® WISCONSIN scholarship program. This component is included to help a scholarship recipient be successful in pursuing education by freeing time to balance the demands of work, home, and coursework. The release time component is often difficult to understand and may be challenging to fulfill. Included in this tip sheet is an explanation of release time as it pertains to all scholarship models. Also included are some examples of ways to ensure that centers and recipients can fulfill this component of the scholarship.

As stated in the contracts, up to 30 hours of release time per semester must be provided to a recipient. "Up to" addresses situations when a recipient is taking more than one class in a semester or when the recipient is taking less than three credits. A recipient should be provided 10 hours of release time per credit, per semester, up to a maximum of 30 hours. For example, a recipient taking one three-credit class receives 30 hours release time. A recipient taking one two-credit class receives 20 hours of release time. A recipient taking two three-credit classes, for a total of six credits, receives the maximum 30 hours of release time.

The recipient should be paid at her/his usual hourly rate of pay when given release time. The center is then reimbursed for 1/2 of the total hours that they paid to the recipient at the rate of $10.00/hour. If $10.00 is more than the recipient's rate of pay, the center keeps the difference. If $10.00 is less than the recipient's rate of pay, the center makes up the difference.

How release time is provided depends on many factors, the most significant of which can be when the classes are offered. Technical colleges, private colleges, and universities offer classes in many formats, including day, night, weekend, intensive, online, instructional television and correspondence options. Sometimes only one course offering is available to a recipient; other times the recipient may have a choice between several course offerings. If there is a choice, it would be appropriate to discuss which choice would be best not only for the recipient, but for the center which is going to provide the release time. Release time must occur in the same semester a recipient is enrolled in a course.

If class hours overlap with a recipient's usual work hours, release time should be given for those hours so that the recipient may attend class. A recipient should be paid for all the time that they are released from work to attend class.

If classes are at night or on the weekend, a recipient can be provided release time in two ways. The first way is to pay for the hours that they attend class, do homework, or study. It is important, though, to make sure that an employee is not exceeding a 40-hour workweek with these additional paid hours, as overtime rates of pay will apply. The second way is to release a recipient from program hours. Centers can schedule a substitute or other staff to cover the time a recipient is released from her/his program. Some centers like to schedule the time off in small intervals throughout the course of a semester. For example, a recipient could be given two hours of release time every Monday. Other centers prefer to give it similar to vacation days. A recipient could be given a full day off to provide eight hours of release time. It is also acceptable for centers to release recipients when planned or unplanned periods of lower enrollment occur. Teachers could come in late or leave early as enrollment permits. Or, around holidays, there is often time to release teachers due to low enrollment. We encourage centers to provide release time on an on-going basis, throughout the semester that a teacher is attending class. Relying on low enrollment periods as a sole method for providing release time is not always successful, because they may not occur.

If a center is supporting more than one recipient at a time, it is helpful for everyone to be involved in a discussion about how the needs of all parties can be met. A concrete plan laid out at the beginning of the semester can ensure that all recipients receive their release time in a consistent and equitable way.

Use Form C, Release Time Reimbursement Claim Form, to request payment from WECA. Release time is a reimbursement and it should be claimed only after it has been provided. It cannot be claimed prior to fulfilling the corresponding course hours. Payment is made to the center. Turning over a release time reimbursement check to a recipient does not fulfill the release time component. Release time must be given to the recipient as paid hours, not as cash or checks.

Either the recipient or the recipient's director may be responsible for completing Form C. Both parties must sign the form before being sent in. Make sure that the dates and hours of release time are clearly noted and that all center and recipient information in the top section is correct. Remember to indicate what semester the reimbursement claim is for. Turn in Form C each month or each semester, whichever is more convenient for your program.

If you need further information on release time, call the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® WISCONSIN Scholarship Program Office. Please contact the counselor directly assigned to the scholarship recipient. This counselor will be able to answer questions that recipients or center representatives may have regarding the scholarship components. A counselor could also put you in touch with one of our T.E.A.C.H. Champions. Our Champions are recipients and/or directors of programs who have volunteered to share their successes with the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® WISCONSIN Scholarship Program. They might be able to share with you how they have made the release time component work for them.

Counselors can be reached at 800-783-9322 or 608-240-9880 at the following extensions:

• Christy Coke, Ext. 7234
• Mary Erickson Gerbig, Ext. 7228
• Kaye Ketterer, Ext. 7243
• Claire Lind, Ext. 7251
• Elizabeth Long, Ext. 7244
• Pam McQuin, Ext. 7226