Professional Development

The Collaboration provides a series of workshops each year to Oak Park and River Forest early childhood care and education programs. A recent professional development series was hosted  was hosted in partnership with New Teacher Center and titled, “Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning Amidst a Pandemic.” Other past sessions have covered developmentally appropriate practices, early literacy and early math skills, and social-emotional development.

The Collaboration provides group and individual advising and guidance to early childhood staff interested in furthering their education and training. This includes support in accessing:

• The Illinois Gateways Scholarship Program
• Illinois Professional Development Funds
• Great Strategy to Attract and Retain Teachers (START)

Explore Additional Professional Development Opportunities:

• Town Square: Where Family Child Care Professionals Learn, Share and Thrive (in Partnership with Erikson Institute)
• Illinois STARNET Training Calendar
• Gateways to Opportunity iLearning Online Training

The Early Childhood Annual Symposium

A signature event of the Collaboration each winter, our annual Symposium provides an arena for educators, caregivers, parents, and anyone who works with young children to gain knowledge, perspective and practical skills in promoting positive learning experiences. Designed to be interactive and to promote networking amongst attendees, the Symposium includes a keynote address by a noted authority on that year’s theme and it offers a wide range of workshops. Peruse the multitude of resources and themes from past year’s symposiums.

The Professional Development Committee

The Collaboration convenes and facilitates the Professional Development (PD) Committee, a group that designs and plans the annual symposium as well as the annual calendar of early childhood education workshops and professional development offerings. If you are interested in sharing your voice and expertise as a member of the PD Committee, contact us! You can also read a recent PD Committee newsletter, or see our many other committees.