New Live, Online Coaching Program Helps Early Childhood Administrators Rapidly Onboard and Prepare New Educators

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Nov 08, 2022, 08:00 ET

As early childhood programs struggle to rebound post-pandemic and grapple with staffing challenges, Teaching Strategies launches the Teacher Acceleration Program – an eight-week, online coaching and training program available through the Professional Development Teacher Membership.

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Teaching Strategies, the leading provider of early learning curriculum, assessment, professional development and family engagement tools, announced today a new "bootcamp" offering to help early childhood educators acclimate to post-pandemic learning environments, while relieving program administrators who are grappling with unprecedented staffing issues.

"As a team of former educators, we have so much compassion for what programs are experiencing right now and wanted to play a role in helping administrators intentionally train and support new educator's joining their teams staff at a moment when job stress and burnout is at an all-time high. The Teacher Acceleration Program was born out of a sense of urgency to ensure all educators have the confidence and professional foundation they need to be excellent teachers," said Breeyn Mack, former preschool educator and Senior Vice President of Education at Teaching Strategies. "By offering leaders of ECE programs a rapid, effective way to onboard teachers, we can support those who are new to the field or new to the Teaching Strategies ecosystem. This program is an opportunity for teachers to get personalized, immediate support and build foundational skills that set them up for success in their critical work not just this year but hopefully many more to come"

The eight-week Teacher Acceleration Program provides educators with dedicated live coaching, a weekly live class with a small cohort of peers in the program, and a roadmap for what to do each week. Each week focuses on key fundamental topics, such as classroom management techniques, the importance of play in pedagogy, observation-based approaches for individualized instruction, and personal mental health strategies. In addition to weekly topical classes and access to a personal coach, each participant also gets access to a small cohort of educators, a discussion group on the Teaching Strategies community forum, and an "Ask the Expert" hotline with experienced, trained early childhood educators and coaches ready to answer questions within two hours.

In a recent Teaching Strategies survey of early childhood educators, educators who reported access to high-quality professional development opportunities were also more likely to be satisfied in their jobs and less likely to leave the profession. Nearly 60 percent of all educators surveyed said online would be one of their preferred methods of participating in professional development, and more than one-third of educators said this was the only way they want professional development.

Available complimentary in 2022 to current and new providers using the Teaching Strategies Creative Curriculum and the Professional Development Teacher Membership, the Teacher Acceleration Program creates a foundation for teachers to pursue their Child Development Associate credential. The free program builds on Teaching Strategies' first-of-its-kind PD Teacher Membership, which gives early childhood educators access to live virtual classes, on-demand e-learning courses, self-paced pathways to earn and maintain key industry credentials, exclusive access to experts, and an online professional learning community with moderated discussion forums, active groups, and the open sharing of ideas.

"Across the country, we know administrators are juggling filling open teacher positions themselves, while also trying to thoughtfully train and onboard new educators who may have limited early childhood experience. As leaders in the early childhood education market, we have a responsibility to help our customers with their greatest challenges," said Teaching Strategies CEO John Olsen. "The Teacher Acceleration Program extends our partnership to help our customers navigate teacher on-boarding while accelerating their effectiveness in the classroom."

About Teaching Strategies
Driven by research that shows a child's first eight years form a critical foundation for success in school and in life, Teaching Strategies has been an advocate for the early education community for over 40 years. Today, Teaching Strategies connects teachers, children and families to inspired teaching and learning experiences, informative data, stronger family partnerships, and professional learning through the leading early learning platform and resources. Its products, including the most widely-used curriculum and assessment solutions The Creative Curriculum® and GOLD®, are found in over 250,000 classrooms and reach over four million children each year. To learn why thousands of early childhood programs and many states choose to partner with Teaching Strategies to help ensure children's success in school and in life, visit teachingstrategies.com and follow us on Twitter @TeachStrategies.

SOURCE Teaching Strategies