Early Childhood Education

Monday, February 2, 2026 Beyond the Job Posting: Creative Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Early Childhood Administrators (VIRTUAL) 6:30 – 8 PM

Cost:  FREE

Core Content Subject Area: 3) Professional development/professionalism

CDA Subject Area: 6) Maintaining a commitment to professionalism

Audience:  Directors/Administrators

Training Level:  2

Description: Do you have trouble recruiting and/or retaining staff? Do you have tips to share? Do you want to engage in open discussions about workforce challenges and learn from other administrators? If you answered yes to any of those questions, this training may be right for you. This training provides ample time for small and whole group discussion, and actionable strategies for early childhood administrators to attract and retain high-quality staff. Participants will learn how to foster a supportive workplace culture, enhance leadership practices, and implement systems that ensure long-term staff satisfaction, with a reduction in turnover.

Instructor: Charla Heersche

Location:  Virtual (Zoom)

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Thursday, February 26, 2026 Meaningful Observation and Assessment for Preschool Professionals: How to Capture Growth and Development (VIRTUAL) 6:30 – 8:30 PM

KY All STARS Standard: Submitted for B5 (Curriculum-Based Assessment)

Cost:  FREE

Core Content Subject Area: 5) Child Assessment

CDA Subject Area: 2) Advancing children’s physical and intellectual development; and 7)Observing and recording children’s behavior

Audience:  Preschool Providers

Training Level:  3

Description: Preschool teachers are busy wearing many hats in their classrooms each day. Documenting a child’s growth and development is among the most important daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly responsibilities. During this session, we will explore ways to make documentation simple yet effective for capturing detailed observations of every child and then to using the observation findings to inform classroom instruction. Participants will also learn how to utilize science-based assessments while reviewing resources available to early childhood educators in Kentucky.

Instructor: Jessica Abner

Location:  Virtual (Zoom)

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Tuesday, March 12, 2026 Anti-Bias Education in Early Childhood Programs (VIRTUAL) 6:30 – 8:30 PM

KY All STARS Standard: Submitted for B1R/B2R: Curriculum, Instructional Practices or Teaching and Learning

Cost:  FREE

Core Content Subject Area: 4) Learning environment and curriculum; and 6) Family community partnerships

CDA Subject Area: 2) Advancing children’s physical and intellectual development; and 3) Supporting children’s social and emotional development

Audience: All Providers

Training Level:  2

Description: This session will introduce the concepts of anti-bias education and explore classroom materials and experiences that can support these teaching approaches. Through the use of everyday materials and discussion, teachers can develop children’s positive identity and confidence, appreciation of diversity, empathy toward others, recognition of unfairness, and ability to stand up for what is right.

Instructor: Jessica Abner

Location:  Virtual (Zoom)

Register Here

Monday, March 16, 2026 Using Children’s Literature to Teach Diversity and Social Emotional Skills to School-Age Children (VIRTUAL) 6:30 – 8 PM

KY All STARS Standard: Submitted for B1R/B2R: Curriculum, Instructional Practices or Teaching and Learning

Cost:  FREE

Core Content Subject Area: 4) Learning environment and curriculum

CDA Subject Area: 3) Supporting children’s social and emotional development

Audience:  School Age Providers

Training Level:  2

Description: Reading culturally diverse literature with children is an excellent way to teach social-emotional skills and diversity, but getting started can be challenging. You may be curious about the process for selecting the most relevant and impactful books for your group of students, and how to facilitate conversations related to diversity. This training session explores school environments where students are encouraged to learn, process, and celebrate cultural differences. This includes directly teaching skills K-5 students need to value and affirm themselves, and how they learn to affirm and value others. Participants will discuss guidelines for selecting culturally relevant literature, including examples and activities for building self-related skills, interpersonal skills, and social awareness.

Instructor: Charla Heersche

Location:  Virtual (Zoom)

Register Here

Cost: $30 (3-hours)

Core Content Subject Areas: 1 – Child growth and development, 4 – Learning environment and curriculum

CDA Subject Area: 1 – Planning a safe, healthy learning environment; and 3 – Positive ways to support children’s social and emotional development

Audience:  All

Description: Our everyday interactions with young children have the power to build something essential within them – resilience. This course offers simple, meaningful strategies to help children grow to become emotionally strong, confident, and capable people. Participants will begin with learning that resilience is a child’s ability to cope with stress, recover from challenges, and keep going – even when things are hard. Then the course takes early care and education professionals through the five resiliency tip sheets designed in collaboration with NorthKey and EC LEARN with funding from the Kentucky Early Childhood Regional Collaborative in Boone, Campbell, Kenton, and Pendleton counties. The five tip sheets include: 5 Ways to Help Children Feel Safe; 5 Ways to Build a Positive Relationship with Children; 5 Ways to Encourage Children; 5 Ways to Help Children Be Creative; and 5 Ways to Help Children Cope. Participants will be asked to reflect on how their everyday interactions with young children foster resilience by focusing on encouragement, connections, problem-solving, and emotional support.

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Cost: $50 (6-hours)

Core Content Subject Areas: 1 – Child growth and development, 4 – Learning environment and curriculum

CDA Subject Area: 3 – Positive ways to support children’s social and emotional development

Audience:  All

Description: This web-based, on-demand course is designed to introduce you to four easy-to-remember steps to transform the behaviors in your classroom. Connect the Dots is a joint collaboration between multiple early education and mental health specialists across Kentucky. The collaboration was built to address a common need: The need for a short yet powerful skills-based training teaching the basics of social and emotional best practices. Connect the Dots highlights 4 easy-to-remember steps, or dots, to address challenging behaviors. Connect the Dots will reduce frustrating and challenging behaviors but more importantly begin the development of strong social and emotional skills critical for success in school and in life!

Objectives:

• Describe the three brain states and apply the information to challenging behavior.
• Identify how a predictable schedule, organized routines and transitions, and age-appropriate physical environment improve a child’s behavior.
• Use proven skills to help the child link positive behaviors to positive experiences and feelings.
• Demonstrate at least two positive discipline techniques that teach children how to handle their feelings and needs in appropriate ways.
• Identify how unique temperaments and personality strengths have a critical impact on behavior and relationships.
• Reframe a child’s behavior using the 4 dots.

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All STARS Approved Training: Standard A1R: Developmental Screening

Cost: $30 (3-hours)

Core Content Subject Area:  5 – Child assessment; 6 – Family and community partnerships

CDA Subject Area: 4 – Strategies to establish productive relationships with families; 7 – Observing and recording children’s behavior

Audience:  All

Description:  This course is designed to help you understand and use the Ages and Stages Questionnaires to monitor children’s progress and to make sure that all children have the supports needed to succeed. Participants will learn the purpose of these screeners, when and how to use them, how to score and interpret, and best practice for communicating results with families.

Register Here

All STARS Approved Training: Standard A1R: Developmental Screening

Cost: $30 (3-hours)

Core Content Subject Areas: 5 – Child Assessment; 6 – Family and community partnerships

CDA Subject Areas: 2 – Steps to advance children’s physical and intellectual development; 7 – Observing and recording children’s behavior

Audience:  Preschool

Description:  This course is designed to help you understand and apply the screening tool to assist in the development of child-focused plans of action. We will go over the purpose of the tool, how to use the tool, how to apply the results to your classroom, and how to share the results with parents.

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Cost:  $45

Training Title: Meet me Where I Am: Promoting the Protective Factors

Description: Protective factors are characteristics that promote family wellness and ensure families are well-positioned to overcome challenges. This training reviews the Strengthening Protective Factors Families framework and provides practical strategies for implementing six protective factors in programs serving families with young children. This training supplements the Meet Me Where I Am workbook developed by the Resilient Children and Families Program (RCFP).

In this course, we will cover:

• Introduction to RCFP and CYRC
• Introduction to Protective Factors
• Protective Factors Framework:
  • Social and Emotional Competence of Children
  • Nurturing and Attachment
  • Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
  • Social Connections
  • Parental Resilience
  • Concrete Support in Times of Need

Core Content Subject Area: 6 – Family community partnerships

CDA Subject Areas: 3 – Supporting children’s social and emotional development; & 4 – Building productive relationships with families

Audience:  All

Training Level:  2

Location:  Online (web-based, on-demand)

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Cost:  $25

Training Title: Meet me Where I Am: Nurturing Family Resilience and Wellness

Description: More and more families are experiencing adversity and stress, and early childhood professionals are well-positioned to help families overcome their challenges. This training explores values and perceptions related to parenting. It provides strategies for early childhood professionals to create effective partnerships with parents, respond to their needs, and promote their resilience. This training is designed to supplement the Meet Me Where I Am workbook developed by the Resilient Children and Families Program (RCFP).

In this course, we will cover:

• Introduction to RCFP and CYRC
• Principles of Effective Family Engagement
• The Ladder of Inference
• Building Effective Parent Partnerships
• Strategies for Building Effective Partnerships

Core Content Subject Area: 6 – Family community partnerships

CDA Subject Areas: 4 – Building productive relationships with families

Audience:  All

Training Level:  2

Location:  Online (web-based, on-demand)

Register Here

Cost:  $25

Training Title: Meet me Where I Am: Nurturing Social-Emotional Wellness

Description: Young children rely on caring adults and positive environments to develop positive relationships and understand their feelings and behaviors. This training provides strategies for helping families and children connect their behavior to their feelings and thoughts. Through empathy, co-regulation, and wondering with children, early childhood professionals learn effective ways to respond to children, avoid crises, and promote their social-emotional well-being. This training is designed to supplement the Meet Me Where I Am workbook developed by the Resilient Children and Families Program (RCFP).

In this course, we will cover:

• Introduction to RCFP and CYRC
• What is Social-Emotional Wellness?
• Creating a Supportive Environment
• Attuning to the Inner Child
• Helping Children Cope
• Partnering With Parents

Core Content Subject Area: 4 – Learning environment and curriculum

CDA Subject Areas: 3 – Supporting children’s social and emotional development

KY All STARS Standards: B1R/B2R – Curriculum, Instruction, Teaching, Learning

Audience:  All

Training Level:  2

Location:  Online (web-based, on-demand)

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Saturday, December 6, 2025 – First Aid and Pediatric CPR Certification & Epi-Pen and Blood Borne Pathogens Training (IN-PERSON) 9AM – Noon

Audience: All

Description: This face-to-face training session provided by Northern Kentucky EMS which utilized the American Safety & Health Institute standards is approved to meet licensing and certification requirements and includes training on the following:

• CPR (Adult, Child, and Infant)
• Relief of Foreign Body Airway Obstruction (Adult, Child, and Infant)
• Signs of Heart Attack, Cardiac Arrest and Stroke
• Use of the AED for Adults, Children, and Infants
• Preventing bloodborne pathogens spread and exposure incidents
• First Aid (Patient assessment, wound care, bleeding control, head/eye injuries, heat & cold emergencies, chest & abdominal injuries, shock, burn, fractures/sprains/strains, seizures)
• Epi-pen administration

Time:  9 am – Noon

Location: TBD

Instructor:  NKEMS

Register Here