Professional Development & Trainings

On-board new staff members and help employees keep their skills sharp with professional development opportunities from statewide afterschool networks and other organizations with an aim to serve young people.

Online Professional Development Opportunities

You4Youth

The U.S. Department of Education's You for Youth technical assistance site has a robust offering of professional development modules. While designed for 21st Century Community Learning Center programs, these trainings cover topics any youth development professional will find important; including literacy, SEL, family engagement, and developing strategic partnerships.

Foundations, Inc

Well known for their Beyond School Hours Conference, Foundations, Inc also provides professional learning opportunities through a series of low cost webinars. Topics include family engagement, cultural competence, supporting older youth, and program quality, among other areas.

National Afterschool Association

The National Afterschool Association offers members a variety of professional development modules through its TurnkeyPD resource. Learn about about ways to engage both your students and your staff in your afterschool program.

Click2Science

Click2SciencePD offers STEM professional development resources for out-of-school time program providers. The site hosts a variety of self-directed web lessons, webinars, and guides for staff trainings on STEM in out-of-school time programs directed at program leaders, frontline staff, and program volunteers. Click2Science resources are low cost professional development opportunities with web lessons costing five dollars for professional development credit.

Better Kid Care

Penn State Extension's Better Kid Care website offers low cost distance learning professional development opportunities for afterschool program providers. A particular focus is on the foundations of positive youth development.

IRIS Center

The IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University provides professional development opportunities with a focus on supporting students with disabilities.

National Summer Learning Association

Thinking about summer? The National Summer Learning Association hosts periodic webinars on topics of interest to summer program providers.

National Science Teachers Association

The National Science Teachers Association is offering free, 30-day memberships to new members. These memberships include access to 12,000 professional learning resources and tools.

Staff Recruitment Toolkit

These materials were developed to help program providers and state networks recruit staff for afterschool and summer programs.

Cox Campus

The Atlanta Speech School's Cox Campus provides digital professional development opportunities with a focus on literacy for children in Pre-K through 3rd grade. A joint partnership between the Atlanta Speech School, the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, and Foundations, Inc., Cox Campus provides free, video-based courses to help you integrate evidence based practices into your teaching.

Afterschool Alliance Webinars

Check out our numerous webinars with a professional development focus.

Statewide Afterschool Networks

Many statewide afterschool networks offer free webinars or other web-based trainings on a variety of topics. Some networks are in the process of developing new trainings, so be sure to periodically check your state's website for more information.