Those who care for and teach young children need information and resources to support them as early care and education and school-age professionals. Research shows that increased training and education for early learning professionals relates to higher-quality interactions with and care for children.
In Washington, we can improve the quality of early learning programs by increasing the skills and education levels of those who work with children. We want to provide clear pathways and information for professional development, and bring recognition and professionalism to the field of early learning. This will result in effective services for children and families.
Our state’s professional development system helps those caring for and teaching young children: .
- Understand what they need to know and be able to do when caring for children.
- Manage their training and education record.
- Find training and education opportunities to help them move forward in their career.
- Find resources and financial support for individual professional development.
MERIT is Washington’s online tool for early learning professionals to find trainings, access information on career pathways, and track their individual career progress.
Read More >
The Washington state career lattice for early care and education professionals and school-age professionals provides a clear pathway for professional development.
Read More >
State training requirements for child care providers, called STARS, have been in place since 1999.
Read More >
DEL has recently implemented a new trainer approval process for Washington.
Read More >
Core competencies help define what professionals need to know and be able to do to provide quality education and care to young children.
Read More >
There are resources to help early learning professionals further their training and education.
Read More >
A group of early learning experts and stakeholders, led by DEL, submitted recommendations to the state Legislature outlining how to build an integrated professional development system in Washington.
Read More >