What We Do

The Center for Early Learning Professionals supports Rhode Island’s commitment to improving the care and education of the state’s youngest children by strengthening the early childhood workforce.

We work with a diverse range of programs that serve children from birth to age five in child care centers, family child care homes, public school inclusion preschools, and state-funded Pre-K programs.

We offer innovative professional development services that help early learning professionals develop new skills, advance their careers, and better serve the children in their care.

We engage program leaders in a process of continuous quality improvement that supports movement along the state’s early learning quality continuum, resulting in an increased BrightStars rating and eligibility for tiered reimbursement rates for children enrolled in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).

We also support programs in achieving their goal of becoming a state-funded Pre-K Program.

The Center is a project of Education Development Center (EDC) with funding from the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). As the workforce development hub for the birth-to-age-five early learning community, we work collaboratively with BrightStars and other DHS-funded community partners to coordinate the delivery of high-quality services that best meet the individual needs of programs and providers.