Free Summer Professional Development Series for School-Age Program Staff

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Johnstown, PA (May 17, 2023) – For school-age child care providers, access to ongoing training is critical to build the skills needed to deliver high quality care. It is also hard to come by. To address the challenge and improve quality of care for all school-age children, The Learning Lamp and Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) will launch a FREE summer professional development series that kicks off May 25, 2023. The workshops can be accessed virtually by any provider, no matter where they live.

The monthly workshops take place from May-August via Zoom. The sessions will meet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. School-age professionals including child care staff, teachers, program directors, and summer camp staff are encouraged to attend. To reserve a spot, visit https://www.thelearninglamp.org/events/.

The series will offer an array of strategies to deliver high-quality summer camp sessions for preschool and school-age children. PQAS hours and/or Act 48 credits will be awarded to participants for each completed two-hour session. The monthly online workshop series includes:

• Thursday, May 25, 2023 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. – Get Your Summer Program Off on the Right Foot (K1 & 4 C1)
• Thursday, June 15, 2023 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. – Positive Guidance for School-Age Learners (K1 & 5 C1)
• Thursday, July 20, 2023 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. – Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead (K5 C1)
• Thursday, August 17, 2023 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. – Let’s Get Moving! (K5 C1)

These workshops will be led by the following instructors:

• Lorrie Hall, M.Ed., TA Coach, Community Connections for Children/ELRC 9 and 10; Lorrie is a veteran teacher, child care director, school-age specialist, instructor, and coach.
• Karian Wise, M.Ed., Head of School for Early Learning, Carlow University Early Learning Center and Campus Laboratory School; Karian is a long-time early learning teacher, child care director, apprenticeship mentor, and adjunct faculty member.

The workshops are brought to you by The Learning Lamp, based in Johnstown, PA. The nonprofit manages 20 licensed child care and preschool programs across four counties, as well as a regional shared services initiative. The sessions support the organization’s free summer camp lesson plans that are available to all Pennsylvania child care and summer camp providers. The lessons can be accessed at thelearninglamp.org under the Shared Services tab.

For more information on The Learning Lamp and the free summer school-age child care provider professional development series, visit https://www.thelearninglamp.org/events/.

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The Learning Lamp is a nonprofit organization with a mission to engage all children in the support they need to succeed. We deliver high quality programs that are affordable and accessible to families of all income levels. In 2021, The Learning Lamp served 28,160 youth/adults from 51 school districts and 69 other schools and organizations in 19 Pennsylvania counties. Our programs include: child care and preschool, after school programs, tutoring, SAT prep, online learning, credit recovery, alternative education and specialized classrooms for at-risk students, trauma support groups for children/families, temporary staffing, and grant writing and project consulting for schools.