Statewide &
National Connection
DHHS Statewide Listing of
Resource Development Centers RDCs support child care providers by
maintaining a referral database, by lending out available resource materials,
and through published newsletters that offer information about child care
issues and educational opportunities. Personnel at RDCs are trained to offer
technical assistance, may be able to provide scholarship information, and each
RDC has a Training Coordinator who organizes regional trainings.
Finance Authority of Maine
offers
several avenues to professional development funding from grant applications to
scholarships. See specifically the ‘Quality Child Care Education Scholarship’.
Maine Department of Education Training
and Development Website The
Department of Education provides a wide range of technical assistance and
professional development services in areas as diverse as school lunch programs,
school finance, teacher certification, and school construction. Check out the
‘Training and Development Calendar’ for specific training opportunities.
Maine Roads to
Quality (MRTQ) The Maine Roads Registry and Career Lattice are our state's child care and early education professional
recognition system. As a Registry member, you receive recognition for your
experience working with children and families, your ongoing training and your
educational accomplishments in early childhood education or related fields.
National
Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC provides
information on accreditation as well as a comprehensive contact list of
accredited programs throughout the nation.
National Child Development Associates Council for
Professional Recognition provides a service of keeping a national database of early childhood
teacher preparation institutions. Just click on your state to find a drop-down
list of institutions in your area which can be used for professional
development.
Community
Colleges and University Connections
Child Development Services Early Childhood
Intervention Certificate Information Maine
Department of Education (MDOE) is working with
UMaine Center
for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) through a
State-University Partnership Project. As part of this initiative CCIDS is
providing technical assistance to MDOE and Child Development Services (CDS) to
support the changes in certification requirements for personnel providing
developmental therapy / special education.
Maine Community
College System Associate degrees and certificates are available in Early
Childhood Education, Early Childhood Assistant, General Education, Special
Education, Speech/Language Pathology Assistant, and Paraeducation. Click on the ‘program list’ for ‘Education
and Early Childhood’ to see professional development opportunities at one of
the community colleges near you.
The Regional Teacher
Development Center located on the University
of Maine at Farmington campus, is one of three regional
centers in the state devoted to providing professional development
opportunities for educators. The founding philosophy of the RTDC is one of
collaboration and innovation, designed to bring the best thinking and best
educational practice to pre-K—12 educators, both new and experienced, who are
eager to build their own capacities to become exceptional classroom teachers
and leaders. Check out their Service
Schools page to see if their expertise is available in your area.
UMaine Center for
Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) The CCIDS website includes
useful ‘tip sheets’ that cover the many topics that arise around child care
settings, from developmentally appropriate practices, to child assessment, to
legal issues. The Center for Community
Inclusion also has telephone consultation, email support, on-site consultation
staff development and training activities, and a resource library to help Maine child care
providers when they have questions or concerns about the children for whom they
are caring.
UMaine Farmington - Early Childhood Special
Education: Core Courses Offered at a Distance The Early Childhood
Special Education Program at the University
of Maine at Farmington is designed to prepare
professionals to work with young children with disabilities, birth to age 8,
and their families. To meet the needs of a statewide audience, selected core
courses utilizing distance education technology are offered for baccalaureate
and post-baccalaureate professionals seeking to complete courses which can be
applied to the State of Maine
teacher endorsements Teacher of Young Children with Disabilities, Birth to
School-Age Five or Teacher of Students with Disabilities, K-3.
UMF
Office of Educational Outreach provides a listing of new programs by UMF
targeted to ECE professional development (distance & non-distance learning).
There are also links on the page to other sources of professional development.
