Design training that actually changes what happens in the classroom
A practical, field-tested system for childcare directors, coaches, and PD coordinators who are done running trainings that educators forget by Monday morning — and ready to build PD that sticks.
"When PD is designed with intention, educators don't just sit through it — they leave differently, and children feel it by Tuesday."
— Wanda Holmes
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Design a complete professional development training from needs assessment through evaluation using a proven instructional framework
- Write clear, measurable learning objectives aligned to real childcare competencies and quality standards
- Build adult-learning-centered agendas that respect educators' time and prior experience
- Create engaging, low-tech activities — case studies, role plays, reflective protocols — that drive behavior change on the classroom floor
- Facilitate training sessions with confidence, managing mixed-experience groups and resistant participants
- Measure the impact of your PD using simple pre/post tools and follow-up observation strategies
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 24 lessons
Foundations of Effective Early Childhood PD
Establishes why traditional training often fails childcare educators and introduces the adult-learning principles that underpin all effective PD design.
- 1.1Why Most Childcare Trainings Don't StickIncluded
- 1.2Adult Learning Principles for the Early Childhood ContextIncluded
- 1.3Connecting PD Design to Quality Standards and CompetenciesIncluded
- 1.4Choosing the Right Instructional FrameworkIncluded
Needs Assessment: Starting with the Right Problem
Teaches practical, low-burden methods for identifying what educators actually need before a single training slide is built.
- 2.1Identifying Real Gaps vs. Assumed GapsIncluded
- 2.2Gathering Data from Educators, Families, and ObservationIncluded
- 2.3Prioritizing Needs and Scoping Your TrainingIncluded
Writing Objectives and Building Your Agenda
Guides participants through writing sharp learning objectives and structuring an agenda that honors adult learners' expertise and energy.
- 3.1Writing Clear, Measurable Learning ObjectivesIncluded
- 3.2Designing an Agenda That Respects Educators' TimeIncluded
- 3.3Scaffolding for Mixed-Experience GroupsIncluded
- 3.4Aligning Objectives, Activities, and Assessment from the StartIncluded
Creating Engaging, Low-Tech Learning Activities
Equips designers with a toolkit of high-impact, resource-light activities proven to drive behavior change on the classroom floor.
- 4.1Case Studies Rooted in Real Childcare ScenariosIncluded
- 4.2Role Plays and Practice-Based LearningIncluded
- 4.3Reflective Protocols That Build HabitIncluded
- 4.4Discussion Structures and Collaborative Learning RoutinesIncluded
Facilitating with Confidence
Builds the facilitation skills needed to lead engaging sessions, manage group dynamics, and respond to resistance professionally.
- 5.1Setting the Room and Opening StrongIncluded
- 5.2Managing Mixed-Experience Groups in the MomentIncluded
- 5.3Navigating Resistance and Difficult DynamicsIncluded
- 5.4Pacing, Transitions, and Keeping Energy UpIncluded
Measuring Impact and Planning for Transfer
Provides simple, practical evaluation tools and follow-up strategies that prove — and improve — the effect of your PD on classroom practice.
- 6.1Designing Pre/Post Tools That Actually Measure ChangeIncluded
- 6.2Follow-Up Observation and Coaching StrategiesIncluded
- 6.3Collecting and Using Participant FeedbackIncluded
- 6.4Reporting PD Impact to Directors and StakeholdersIncluded
- 6.5Putting It All Together: Your Complete PD Training PlanIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
Childcare Center Directors
She's accountable for her staff's growth and tired of paying for trainings that don't move the needle — this school gives her a system she can own internally.
QRIS Specialists
He needs PD that maps cleanly to quality standards and competency frameworks, and this curriculum shows him exactly how to make that alignment explicit and measurable.
Early Childhood Instructional Coaches
She supports educators one-on-one every day, and learning to design group PD well extends her reach and strengthens the coaching she's already doing.
PD Coordinators at Resource & Referral Agencies
She's responsible for training dozens of providers across a region and needs a repeatable design process that holds up across very different sites and audiences.
Experienced Lead Teachers Stepping into Training Roles
She has deep classroom wisdom but has never been taught how to translate it into a structured training — this school bridges that gap with confidence.
Head Start Training & TA Specialists
He delivers required PD hours to a workforce with wildly mixed backgrounds, and this curriculum gives him the tools to design sessions that work for everyone in the room.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Wanda Holmes
If you're the person in your organization who's responsible for making professional development happen — you know the weight of that role.
You're juggling scheduling logistics, adult learners who've seen a thousand trainings come and go, directors who want results, and a budget that usually doesn't match the ask. And somewhere in the middle of all that, you're supposed to design a training that actually changes something in the classroom. That's a big ask. And most of us were never really taught how to do it well — we learned on the job, borrowing slide decks and hoping for the best.
I built this school because I've seen what happens when early childhood professionals get real instructional tools in their hands. Not theory for theory's sake — concrete frameworks, practical activities, and honest conversations about what works with adult learners who are stretched thin and sometimes skeptical. When PD is designed well, educators don't just sit through it. They leave differently. They try something new on Tuesday. They come back to the next session with a question. That's the kind of change that reaches children.
Everything in this curriculum reflects what I've seen work in real childcare settings — not idealized ones. We talk about needs assessment because I've watched too many trainings built around what someone assumed educators needed, only to miss the actual gap entirely. We go deep on facilitation because knowing your content isn't the same as knowing how to hold a room of mixed-experience educators who'd rather be with their kids. And we build toward a complete training plan because I want you to leave with something you can actually use, not just a collection of notes.
You don't need a graduate degree in instructional design to do this work well. You need a solid framework, the right tools, and enough practice with the thinking that it becomes second nature. That's what this school is here to give you.
If you're ready to stop guessing and start designing PD with real intention — I'm glad you're here. Let's build something that works.
— Wanda Holmes
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- 6 modules, 24 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
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