The Professional Development Institute (PDI) is a 30-day hands-on training program dedicated to supporting entry level teachers in the early childhood education field. The PDI is an ideal opportunity for those interested in pursuing a career in early childhood education. The Institute will provide teachers with one month of paid training; following successful completion of the PDI teachers will have the opportunity to join the Educare DC staff as Traveling Teacher Aides.
During the Professional Development Institute, teachers will build knowledge in order to be better equipped to provide quality education and care for the children in our schools. Trainings will include:
- Foundational courses including the Essential Practices of Educare
- Peer-to-peer learning
- Coaching by experienced Educare DC educators
- Reflective practices
- Normalizing and enforcing best practices that align with license-regulated compliance requirements
For those interested in applying for the Traveling Teacher Aide position and participating in the Professional Development Institute, please apply here.
In addition to the Professional Development Institute for novice teachers, Educare DC also provides training and professional development for our own teachers through a series of trainings called the Essential Practices of Educare.
Essential Practices of Educare trainings are also offered to area early childhood educators in partnership with the Office of the School Superintendent (OSSE). If you are a center director and are interested in setting up a personalized training for your staff, please contact us today.
Trainings provide practical instruction to center- and school-based programs on how to improve program practice and ultimately deliver stronger outcomes for children and families. Practitioners will develop their knowledge, behavior and practices to meet the increasingly rigorous quality standards in early education.
Holistic Training Across Four Key Areas:
- Data Utilization: Use data effectively to fuel continuous quality improvement.
- Embedded Professional Development: Include routines of professional development in the learning and collaboration of day-to-day work.
- Intensive Family Engagement: Empower and strengthen parents’ capacity to fully realize their role as strong nurturers, educators and leaders in their families, schools and communities.
- High-Quality Teaching Practices: Leveraging instructional culture and teacher-child interactions for classroom success.