November 3, 2025 Pennsylvania Key to Offer School-Age Care Professional Development This Fall The Pennsylvania Key will offer several courses in November and December that will focus on school-age care professional development. Learn More The courses – as part of the Pennsylvania Key’s Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) – cover five topics all having to do with child and youth development, behavior, and emotions. One course focuses on how youths’ behavior may reflect their big emotions as well as how to manage those emotions. Another involves tools to use for challenging behaviors by children in kindergarten through sixth grade. The topic of one course is what to expect at each stage of development from kindergarten through sixth grade and how to identify developmentally appropriate milestones, while another discusses the developmental needs of fourth to sixth grade students and how to empower them to have a great after-school experience. There is also a class that focuses on social-emotional standards and how to incorporate them into daily activities. All courses include PQAS credits. The class schedule includes: School Age Care Spotlight on Social Emotional Standards: November 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and November 13 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. What to Do with Older SAC Kids: November 24 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. SAC Child Development: December 1 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Introduction to Youth Behavior Reflection Support Tool: December 3 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. SAC Youth with Big Emotions: December 4, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
August 29, 2025 Trying Together Releases Fall 2025 Professional Development Catalog Trying Together has released its 2025 fall catalog to help educators find professional growth opportunities that align with their career goals. The catalog provides course details and credentials. Learn More In the past year, Trying Together awarded nearly 4,500 PQAS credits to support continuous improvement in early learning programs. It aims to increase the number by regularly updating its Professional Development Catalog to make it easier for educators to continue to learn. All courses listed in the catalog are led by a certified PQAS instructor and are Act 48 approved. The courses are broken down into nine sections: Assessments and Supportive Services (Early Intervention) Child Development Classroom Environment Curriculum Development Family and Community Engagement Guidance and Behavior Management Health and Safety Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Professionalism and Program Organization For more information on how Trying Together can assist educators in their learning goals, email learning@tryingtogether.org or call 412-421-3889.
August 25, 2025 Supporting Children’s Social-Emotional Well-Being: A Closer Look at Temperament and Goodness of Fit Theory How can two children with the same parents be so different? Why are some children easygoing and others more challenging to work with? One major factor at play is temperament. Temperament is an important feature of children’s social-emotional well-being and describes the way in which they approach the world. In “Supporting Children’s Social/Emotional Well-Being: A Closer Look at Temperament and Goodness of Fit Theory,” participants will explore different temperament traits and analyze how goodness of fit theory supports children’s social and emotional well-being. This course, while available for all STAR programs, meets the STAR 3 and 4 professional development topic requirements in PSCECE Area 4 ECE Level II. The event will run from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23. The course costs $30 and will take place on Zoom. Registration is open.
August 5, 2025 APOST Announces Professional Development Courses for Fall Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) has released its list of professional development course offerings for the fall. Learn More All of APOST’s fall workshops take approximately two-and-a-half to three hours and locations vary. Registration is required for all courses and closes three days prior to an event or when a session is full. In the event of low registration, Weikart Workshops may be cancelled. Advance notice will be provided. For workshops that take place at CoLab18, APOST will provide parking validation for attendees who park in the Nova Place garage. SEL Series Participants are encouraged to complete a full set of SEL (Social & Emotional Learning) Youth Work Methods Workshops, a new series this season from The Forum for Youth Investment. It is recommended to register for and take all three workshops in a single season because they build off one another. All three workshops are offered this fall. More information about the SEL series is available online. Fall Lineup The complete lineup of courses that APOST will offer this fall includes: Ask-Listen-Encourage (Thursday, Aug. 21 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at AIU) Foundations & Self Awareness of Social Development (SEL Series) (Friday, Aug. 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at AIU) Reframing Conflict (Thursday, Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Homewood CEC) Foundations & Self Awareness of Social Development (SEL Series) (Friday, Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at CoLab18) Reframing Conflict (Thursday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at CoLab18) Fostering Teamwork (SEL Series) (Friday, Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at CoLab18) Planning & Reflection (Thursday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at CoLab18) Structure & Clear Limits (Friday, Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at CoLab18) Youth Voice (Thursday, Nov. 20 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at CoLab18) Promoting Responsibility & Leadership (SEL Series) (Friday, Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at CoLab18)
July 7, 2025 Trying Together, ELRC Region 5 Offering August and September Professional Development Courses Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are offering a variety of professional development opportunities for early childhood educators in August and September as the 2025-26 school year begins. Learn More Trying Together will offer Introduction to ASQ-3 on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. The course, which is free for Allegheny County providers, teaches participants how to use ASQ-3 as a screening tool for children ages 3 months to 5 years. The session provides information on why a developmental screening tool is administered for early childhood programs, how to administer and score the screener, strategies for sharing results with families of diverse backgrounds, and supporting resources for making referrals to additional services. ELRC Region 5 will hold a Supervision 101 class on Thursday, Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. This live webinar will give a foundational overview of supervision in licensed early childhood programs. The course will focus on the supervision aspects of the DHS Certification Regulations for child care in Pennsylvania. The session will also focus on ratio, scenarios, and the importance of supervision in child care. Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 will offer American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED training on Monday, Aug. 11 at 10 a.m. and Friday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. The cost is $70. Trying Together will host Introduction to ASQ:SE-2 on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees should have already taken the ASQ-3 professional development prior to this training. Attendees will learn how to use the ASQ:SE-2® as a social-emotional developmental screening tool for children ages 3 months to 5 five years. On the third Wednesday of every month, Trying Together hosts Growing Together, a professional development series focused on frequently requested topics relating to early childhood educators. The Wednesday, Aug. 20 session will be Resilience in the Classroom – What to Do When Things Fall Apart, while the Wednesday, Sept. 17 session is Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families. Both begin at 6:30 p.m. ELRC Region 5 will offer FLIP IT® on Thursday, Sept. 4. The course is a strategy that offers a simple, kind, strength-based, common sense, and effective four-step process to addressing children’s day-to-day challenging behaviors. The four steps embodied in FLIP IT are F (Feelings), L (Limits), I (Inquiries), P (Prompts).
June 11, 2025 Trying Together to Host Monthly Virtual Professional Development Sessions on Early Childhood Topics Trying Together will host virtual sessions on every third Wednesday of the month for its professional development series focused on frequently requested topics relevant to early childhood educators. Learn More The Growing Together Mini-PD sessions will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Zoom every third Wednesday of the month. Registration – which is currently open – is highly recommended, but people can join at any time using the Zoom link. PQAS credits are available for attendees. Download Flyer. The sessions include: July 16: Prepping the Classroom Environment to Support Social-Emotional Regulation Aug. 20: Resilience in the Classroom: What to Do When Things Fall Apart Sept. 17: Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Oct. 15: From Conflict to Connection: Better Collaboration with Colleagues Nov. 19: Career Pathways in Early Childhood Dec. 17: Introducing the Early Intervention Toolkit Jan. 21: Reframing Children’s “Challenging” Behaviors Feb. 18: Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships with Caregivers March 18: Utilizing Your ELRC Quality Coach: What is Their Role and How Can They Support You? April 15: Aligning Curriculum with Daily Practice May 20: The ELPES (Early Learning Program Engagement Specialists) Team: Who Are They and How Can They Support Providers? June 17: Child Development: Expectations vs. Reality July 15: Navigating Public Policy and Systems To add courses you’re interested in to your calendar, visit the individual event pages at the links above, scroll down, and click the “Add to Calendar” button. For additional information, contact Amanda Murphy at amanda@tryingtogether.org.
May 29, 2025 Growing Together | Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships with Caregivers Join Trying Together virtually every third Wednesday of the month for professional development focused on frequently requested topics relevant to early childhood educators. The topic for February is Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships with Caregivers Participants can choose to attend any or all of the mini-sessions and registration is highly recommended. However, participants can access any session using the Zoom link. Click here to register Professional development sessions in the series include: March 18, 2026: Utilizing Your ELRC Quality Coach: What is Their Role and How Can They Support You? April 15, 2026 Aligning Curriculum With Daily Practice May 20, 2026: The ELPES (Early Learning Program Engagement Specialists) Team: Who Are They and How Can They Support Providers? June 17, 2026 Child Development: Expectations vs. Reality July 15, 2026 Navigating Public Policy and Systems Each session runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.
Growing Together | Preparing the Classroom Environment to Support Social-Emotional Regulation Join Trying Together virtually every third Wednesday of the month for professional development focused on frequently requested topics relevant to early childhood educators. The July 16 session is focused on Preparing the Classroom Environment to Support Social-Emotional Regulation Participants can choose to attend any or all of the mini-sessions and registration is highly recommended. However, participants can access any session using the Zoom link. Click here to register The other sessions in the series include: August 20: Resilience in the Classroom: What to Do When Things Fall Apart September 17: Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families October 15: From Conflict to Connection: Better Collaboration with Collages November 19, 2025: Career Pathways in Early Childhood December 17, 2025: Introducing the Early Intervention Toolkit January 21, 2026: Reframing Children’s “Challenging” Behaviors February 18, 2026: Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships with Parents March 18, 2026: Utilizing Your ELRC Quality Coach: What is Their Role and How Can They Support You? April 15, 2026 Aligning Curriculum With Daily Practice May 20, 2026: The ELPES (Early Learning Program Engagement Specialists) Team: Who Are They and How Can They Support Providers? June 17, 2026 Child Development: Expectations vs. Reality July 15, 2026 Navigating Public Policy and Systems Each session runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.
Growing Together | Resilience in the Classroom: What to Do When Things Fall Apart Join Trying Together virtually every third Wednesday of the month for professional development focused on frequently requested topics relevant to early childhood educators. The August 20 session is focused on Resilience in the Classroom: What to Do When Things Fall Apart. Participants can choose to attend any or all of the mini-sessions and registration is highly recommended. However, participants can access any session using the Zoom link. Click here to register Upcoming sessions in the series include: September 17: Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families October 15: From Conflict to Connection: Better Collaboration with Collages November 19, 2025: Career Pathways in Early Childhood December 17, 2025: Introducing the Early Intervention Toolkit January 21, 2026: Reframing Children’s “Challenging” Behaviors February 18, 2026: Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships with Parents March 18, 2026: Utilizing Your ELRC Quality Coach: What is Their Role and How Can They Support You? April 15, 2026 Aligning Curriculum With Daily Practice May 20, 2026: The ELPES (Early Learning Program Engagement Specialists) Team: Who Are They and How Can They Support Providers? June 17, 2026 Child Development: Expectations vs. Reality July 15, 2026 Navigating Public Policy and Systems Each session runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.
Growing Together: Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Join Trying Together virtually every third Wednesday of the month for professional development focused on frequently requested topics relevant to early childhood educators. The topic for September is Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families. Participants can choose to attend any or all of the mini-sessions and registration is highly recommended. However, participants can access any session using the Zoom link. Click here to register Upcoming sessions in the series include: October 15: From Conflict to Connection: Better Collaboration with Collages November 19, 2025: Career Pathways in Early Childhood December 17, 2025: Introducing the Early Intervention Toolkit January 21, 2026: Reframing Children’s “Challenging” Behaviors February 18, 2026: Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships with Parents March 18, 2026: Utilizing Your ELRC Quality Coach: What is Their Role and How Can They Support You? April 15, 2026 Aligning Curriculum With Daily Practice May 20, 2026: The ELPES (Early Learning Program Engagement Specialists) Team: Who Are They and How Can They Support Providers? June 17, 2026 Child Development: Expectations vs. Reality July 15, 2026 Navigating Public Policy and Systems Each session runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.
