Professional development days are usually scheduled for June and October. Please review the email newsletter and notices posted at the centre for details.
We have been participating in a combined professional development day with other non-profit centres. There is much to gain from networking and collaborating with other like-minded organizations whose aim is to advance the quality of early learning and care for young children and their families.
Years of research has demonstrated that the greatest indicator of high quality in early learning and child care settings is the knowledge, education, and capacity of the staff employed to work with young children and their families. Appropriate preparation of Alberta’s Early Learning and Care workforce ultimately contributes to the well-being of children and their families.
Our day care and out-of-school programs belong to CAFRA (Child Care Association for Resources to Administrators), a group of 38 community-operated, non-profit child care centres in the Edmonton area. A major focus for CAFRA leadership over the last number of years has been to support its membership in understanding and implementation of Flight: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework, launched in January 2015. Previous professional development days have involved members of the curriculum research team from MacEwan University providing information regarding the new curriculum and engaging with some of the key concepts.
Every professional development day provides our educators dedicated time for interacting and reflecting with their peers to improve their understanding and application of the new curriculum. We look forward to these learning opportunities and what they mean for the children in our care.