DURING THE DAY, Lori Thames is the director of an early education program in Dorchester for preschoolers. But during nonworking hours, Thames and hundreds of other early educators are becoming students themselves, using $1 million in new state scholarships to enroll in college. It's a sweet deal. The state gets more qualified teachers. The teachers get to grow as professionals. And children get the kind of richer early-education environments that research shows will make them more school-ready, reduce their need for special education classes, and lower the chances that they will have to repeat grades. Once they graduate, these students are more likely to become attractive candidates for local employers.

So far, nearly 900 people have applied for scholarships: 175 have been approved. Given its popularity, this pilot program should be refunded with an affordable investment of $3 million. Other teachers are watching to see how this first group of scholarship recipients succeeds. Their success would send a vital message: Teachers can get the support they need to earn college degrees, not just funding but programs that fit their lives. Without such compelling proof, some teachers might be wary of going back to college.

For Thames, a good fit includes flexible scheduling. She's taking a Wheelock College course on children with special needs that meets on Friday nights and Saturday, times that don't conflict with her job and that can be meshed with the life of her family -- a husband and three children. She expects to earn a bachelor's degree in 2008.

The scholarships also encourage public colleges and universities to try more innovations: with scheduling, classes held at workplaces, online learning, and intensive counseling. Special efforts should also be made to recruit and serve those who provide daycare in their homes, since they are less likely to have college credentials.

Scholarships are only one step. The state needs a workforce system. Last month, the Department of Early Education and Care poured a foundation with a report that calls both for more higher education and more basic adult education. More capacity is needed. Across the state, 59 colleges and universities offer early education programs, according to research done at the Wellesley Centers for Women. But it would take these schools 19 years to graduate enough students to put one teacher with a bachelor's degree in every center, Head Start, and public preschool classroom.

To enrich its children and its future, Massachusetts needs more educated teachers.