Beginner, Advanced, or somewhere in between training
OSSE LMS
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has a new professional development training platform for the DC early childhood workforce called the OSSE Learning Management System (OSSE LMS). The OSSE LMS replaces the Professional Development Information System (PDIS). PDIS will no longer be accessible as of June 19, 2023.
Quorum Learning
An online professional development membership program for early educators with 24/7 access for one year. Membership includes 170+ hours including all training required for a CDA
Early Childhood Investigations
Early Childhood Investigations is an ongoing series of conference-quality free webinars for early childhood educators. The series is produced by Fran S. Simon, M. Ed., Chief Engagement Officer of Engagement Strategies, LLC. These engaging webinars are presented by many of the thought-leaders and experts in the field of early care and education. The webinars explore critical topics that offer new ideas and insights to early childhood professionals, especially administrators.
Kognito
Kognito offers research-proven training simulations designed to prepare educators, staff, students, physicians, and caregivers to: (1) recognize when someone is exhibiting signs of psychological distress or underlying trauma and (2) manage a conversation with the goal of connecting them with the appropriate support. In these online courses, users engage in practice conversations with virtual humans. With the help of a virtual coach, users learn effective methods for engaging in difficult conversations, including applying motivational interviewing skills, asking open-ended questions, and avoiding common pitfalls. These conversations address chronic disease, PTSD, behavioral health, suicide prevention, substance abuse, screening and brief intervention and social change, among others, and provide users with a low-risk environment to practice conversations hands-on.
CDA
The CDA® national credentialing program is a professional development opportunity for early educators working in a variety of settings with children ages birth to 5 years old and their families to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the early childhood education field. The program is designed to assess and credential early childhood education professionals using multiple sources of evidence, including an exam, observation, and a professional portfolio. By earning a CDA credential in any of the settings below, an educator demonstrates a commitment to career advancement and professionalism.
EC Share DC
Early Childhood Share DC is a comprehensive resource for early learning providers in the District of Columbia, designed to help them save time, increase quality, reduce costs and share knowledge. Through this site - which is available at no cost to all licensed providers in the District - providers can find:
- Resources for business operations, insurance, family engagement, health, handbooks and more
- Curriculum ideas and classroom materials
- HR tools, templates, forms and policies
- Discounts at leading vendors/retailers
- Direct links to key forms and websites relevant to the District
Capital Quality
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE) Division of Early Learning (DEL) recently launched Capital Quality, the District of Columbia’s enhanced Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Capital Quality replaces Going for the Gold, the District’s original QRIS, with a system that measures program quality and focuses on continuous quality improvement. OSSE recognized the need to modify to the original QRIS due to changes in the District’s education sector and an increased need for a common measure of quality across all three sectors (public charter schools, DC Public Schools, and community-based organizations). Most importantly, Capital Quality will be public-facing, which will allow parents to review and compare the program quality of various child development providers throughout the District, and make informed decisions when deciding where to enroll their child.
ITERS-R
There are four Environment Rating Scales (ERS) are designed to assess process quality in an early childhood or school age care group. Process quality is what children directly experience in their programs that has a direct effect on their development, including the various interactions that go on in a classroom between staff and children and among the children themselves, and the interactions children have with the many materials and activities in the environment, as well as those features, such as space, schedule and materials that support these interactions. Process quality is assessed primarily through observation and has been found to be more predictive of child outcomes than structural indicators such as staff to child ratio, group size, cost of care, and even type of care, for example child care center or family child care home (Whitebook, Howes & Phillips, 1995). The scales also examine other less directly experienced quality which are more structural, such as staff provisions, parent participation and information, and interactions among adults.
CLASS
Teachstone's Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS), the leading quality improvement system for teaching, helps teachers focus, measure and improve classroom interactions — a key factor proven to drive children’s academic and life-long success. CLASS not only defines teaching quality through the lens of interactions, it provides the ability to measure and improve the interactions that matter most for student outcomes. And, it’s a journey of continuous improvement that is data-driven and focused on what matters most for student outcomes, interactions.
Resources Available for New Education Requirements
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is committed to increasing access to quality child care for young learners in the District of Columbia. In an ongoing effort to continue to improve access to quality care and education, OSSE recently increased the minimum education requirements for the early childhood workforce. Along with the change in requirements, OSSE is providing support and resources to ensure that current and prospective child development staff have the tools they need to meet the new educational requirements. On this page, child development staff, including center directors, teachers, assistant teachers, home caregivers, associate home caregivers, and expanded home caregivers can access information about the new early childhood education requirements and find resources to support their educational needs. To view available resources by position, please choose the position that describes your current role or the position in which you are most interested.