We may not know who watches the watchmen, but we know who trains the trainers.
Child Care Aware of Kentucky has a robust collection of content about adult learning to support people working in the early childhood field. Training Coaches are responsible for creating and delivering that content in a variety of formats including in person training, hybrid training and via online modules.
“What we know about early childhood is that the more highly trained the child care staff is, the better outcomes for children,” Christine Hausman, Child Care Aware’s Content Coordinator for Training, said. “We’re are currently having trouble securing childcare providers and keeping them in the field of early childhood. So the better trained providers that we can put out there, to care for our youngest children in Kentucky, the better off we will all be.”
Enter Hausman and her team. She works with a team of seven Training Coaches.
“Their primary role is to help recruit good trainers and support them as they are growing in their career,” Hausman said. “We provide ongoing professional development to Kentucky’s credentialed early care and education trainers.”
What does that look like in practice? According to Sharon Norris, who is one of those seven training coaches, that involves guiding people interested in becoming an early care and education credentialed trainer through the process of earning their credential”.
“No day is like the other, which I love,” Norris said. “Sometimes we’re developing or we’re presenting a training. Other times we’re observing trainers. Other times we are supporting a trainer and giving them information.”
Like so much of the work done at HDI, building strong and consistent relationships is a big part of that, both between the network of coaches and between the coaches and the trainers they work with.
“I believe the best way to help people improve and grow is to develop a trusting relationship and help them identify and build on their strengths and interests,” Norris said. “It’s really rewarding to me when I develop those relationships.”
With high-quality training, Norris feels the team is doing important work in not only helping prepare a new generation of trainers, but also ensuring they’ll stay around for a long time – which in turn will help more childcare professionals stay active in the community and solve the availability crisis.
“The training that our trainers provide is so important in helping early care and education professionals offer high quality learning experiences for young children.” Norris said. “It also helps with staff retention because you’re going to like your job better if you feel more prepared.”
