Professional Development

Child Care Professional Development

The positive impact adults have on children’s growth, learning and development is enhanced when they continue their own learning through professional development. Professional development is available for early care and education professionals working in centers, schools, and Family Child Care homes.

New! Free Self-Paced Training for Early Childhood Educators

Transform everyday moments into learning opportunities with FIND-PD, a FREE, self-paced online training from Action for Children and the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. Gain practical strategies, real-life examples, and Ohio-approved (OA) credit hours—on your schedule.

Have you had a chance to look at our Course Catalog?

Explore Action for Children’s new digital course catalog, filled with information on trainings and events designed to support your growth and success. Discover our offerings and register with ease! View the course catalog here!

Current Training Schedule

Upcoming professional development trainings being offered by Action for Children are available below.

How to Register

You can learn more about registering for training, including our training policies, in the documents below.

Professional Development Trainings

Action for Children provides a wide variety of professional development opportunities through classes, special training events, networking opportunities, study groups and more. Information about professional development scheduled by Action for Children can be found on the Ohio Professional Registry. Nearly all trainings offered through Action for Children are Ohio approved through Step Up to Quality (SUTQ).

 

Child Development Associate (CDA)

A CDA is a national credential that educators working with children birth to 5 and their families can earn by demonstrating their knowledge, skills and abilities in the early childhood education field. Action for Children offers a highly respected program to both center-based staff and home providers, which prepares child care professionals to apply to the Council for Professional Recognition and earn their CDAs. Earning a CDA allows you to:

  1. Advance your career

  2. Demonstrate your commitment to the ECE field

  3. Understand developmentally appropriate practices

  4. Increase your confidence

  5. Meet job and statewide requirements such as SUTQ

  6. Have access to scholarships

  7. Have the potential to earn more money through POWER Ohio

Pipeline for Early Childhood Educators

The Ohio State University – in partnership with the city of Columbus, Columbus State Community College, and Action for Children – offers a unique opportunity for students currently working or planning to work in the early childhood education field in Franklin County.

The Pipeline for Early Childhood Educators program (previously known as the Early Childhood Education Professional Preparation Pipeline) provides full tuition to earn a bachelor’s degree in education. To be eligible, applicants must have completed an associate’s degree. Additionally, after students complete their bachelor of science in education degree at Ohio State, recipients are required to work three years in an early childhood setting in Franklin County. Recipients pursue one of two programs:

-Bachelor of Science in Education, Creative Pedagogies specialization (non-licensure)

-Bachelor of Science in Education in Early Childhood Education (licensure)

In-Person Classes

For evening and Saturday classes, please enter our building through the back door. Please check in at the front desk when you arrive. The temperature in our classrooms sometimes fluctuates, so dress in layers to stay comfortable! For classes that last all day, it is recommended that you bring a packed lunch.

Parking

When attending classes during business hours, visitors have a few parking options:

  • Free 3-hour limit parking is available directly in front of our building and on the opposite side of the green space on Jefferson Avenue.
  • Except for limited accessible parking, guests are not permitted to park behind the building. Please reach out to PD@actionforchildren.org if you need additional assistance with accessible parking. 
  • Parking is not permitted in the Jefferson Avenue Center lot (corner of Long Street and Jefferson Avenue) Monday through Friday. Weekend parking is permitted.

Learn More

To learn more about professional development programs, visit the Ohio Professional Registry or contact Action for Children today.

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