Effective professional development must:

• Promote strong, positive collegial relationships.
• Build on the prior knowledge, experience, skills, and needs of each audience.
• Engage adults in active learning experiences that encourage reflection, discussion, and application to classroom practice.
• Be ongoing because patience and time are vital for professional growth and change.

Please contact us to begin a conversation about how we can guide you towards the best practices in
early childhood education.

Effective implementation of best practices in early childhood programs requires strong instructional leadership from administrators, supervisors, and coaches. We can offer customized support in the form of seminars, workshops, and individual coaching on a range of topics including:

We strongly encourage programs to invest the time and resources necessary to use a coaching model with teachers. Research and our experience confirm its effectiveness as a strategy for bringing about lasting professional growth and change for teachers.

We provide ongoing, engaging, interactive professional development experiences for child care providers, preschool teachers, and kindergarten teachers. Topics include:

If the staffing structure of your program does not include coaches, we can provide short-term coaching for teachers.

Judy Jablon began her career in education at the Bank Street School for Children in New York City more than twenty-five years ago. Now a nationally recognized educator and author specializing in early childhood curriculum and assessment, she provides consultation, coaching, and professional development to educators across the country. Her clients have included the Department of Defense Education Activities, numerous state departments of education, school districts, education agencies, and publishing companies. She has coauthored many articles and books about curriculum and assessment including The Power of Observation, The Work Sampling System, and The Essential Literacy Workshop Book.

Charlotte Stetson was a teacher of young children for twenty-five years. She worked in diverse settings, such as Head Start, a college-based child development center, and public schools. For over fifteen years, as an early childhood consultant, she has supported many teachers in implementing The Work Sampling System and The Creative Curriculum. Her clients have included public school systems in Chicago, Philadelphia, West Palm Beach, and Milwaukee. She is a coauthor of Winning Ways to Learn and The Creative Curriculum Study Starters.

Together, Judy and Charlotte have developed and delivered professional development customized for local and statewide initiatives, including the South Carolina State Department of Education Work Sampling Program, the Maryland State Department of Education Model for School Readiness, the Maryland Committee for Children, and the School District of Palm Beach County. In 2007, they have provided ongoing professional development in mathematics and literacy to the Trenton, New Jersey Preschool Program. They are the coauthors and directors of The Creative Curriculum for Preschool in Action, A DVD and, with others, coauthors of Observation: The Key to Responsive Teaching and The Coach's Guide to The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool: A Step-by-Step Resource for Individualizing Professional Development.