Afina Learning: A National Initiative to Transform Professional Development

Efforts to support professional learning and create equitable career pathways for the early childhood workforce have long suffered from a combination of content and delivery that don’t build skills, inadequate supports and funding, and too many “dead-end” trainings. This session will explore the possibilities of a new collaborative effort to create equity-focused career pathways for home- and center-based providers, directors and coaches using a custom-built, mobile-first learning platform and modularized, competency-based courses that stack into badges, micro-credentials and college credits/degrees that can be used to support compensation reform. Created with input from thousands of EC professionals, the Afina Learning system is bringing together many of the nation’s leading content providers to provide a “high-tech meets high-touch” system customizable for states.