Training for Program Administrators

NAEYC Training for Program Administrators are intensive one-day experiences that provide participants with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge. At the end of the workshop participants will have the skills, knowledge, and materials to train the staff at their own center or school on topics presented.  

NAEYC currently offers two Training for Program Administrator programs:

• Developmental Screening and Classroom-based Assessment of Preschoolers: An Introductory Training Program
• Communication Skills for Challenging Conversations

NAEYC will hold the Developmental Screening and Classroom-based Assessment of Preschoolers: An Introductory Training Program and the Communication Skills for Challenging Conversations during the PreConference Day of our 2009 Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

NAEYC is conducting a series of Web-based opportunities based on the revised developmentally appropriate practice guidelines. For information regarding these opportunities, go to the Developmentally Appropriate Practice page of the NAEYC Web site.

Family and Community Initiatives

In 2008, NAEYC created a Family and Community Initiatives program area, providing a home for efforts related to supporting strong families and communities. This new program area is aligned with the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria for Standard 7 (Families) and Standard 8 (Community Relationships) and provides a framework for NAEYC’s programmatic efforts in these areas.  NAEYC envisions that as a result of its efforts, early childhood programs and professionals demonstrate increased competence and effectiveness in the following program area content:    

Families

• Knowing and understanding the program’s families;
• Communication between staff and families;
• Nurturing families as advocates for their children; and
• Promoting social and emotional health for the whole family.

Communities

• Linking with the community;
• Accessing community resources; and
• Acting as a citizen in the neighborhood and early childhood community.

Current Projects

Engaging Diverse Families (EDF), a new NAEYC project, is helping early childhood education programs effectively engage diverse families. Our goal is to learn from the work of excellent early childhood education programs that are effectively engaging diverse families and to share what we learn with other programs struggling to start and sustain family engagement practices. As part of this project, NAEYC is identifying up to 10 exemplary programs. Funding for Engaging Diverse Families is provided by The Picower Foundation.

Partnerships with the Center on Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) and the Technical Assistance Center for Social Emotional Intervention (TACSEI) help NAEYC provide early childhood professionals with high-quality professional development materials and opportunities on addressing children's challenging behaviors and promoting healthy social and emotional development.

Past Projects

From 2002 through 2008, NAEYC supported early childhood professionals strengthen families for the Supporting Teachers, Strengthening Families project.