Resources

Kindergarten Transition Resources

Head Start programs across our state have a strong commitment to supporting children, families, and community partners with school readiness. An important step in school readiness plans is transitioning to a new school setting. Refer to resources from the ECLKC to develop transition plans:

Early Childhood Texas: One-Stop Shop to Connect Parents to Resources

The Texas Health and Human Services Early Childhood Intervention program announces the new Early Childhood Texas website. It’s a streamlined resource for Texas parents to find information about early childhood services available through the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Education Agency, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The new website serves as a one-stop shop to connect Texas parents to various free or low-cost services and resources available through different state agencies and programs.

Home at Head Start

This Office of Head Start initiative supports homeless children and their families.

Opioid Abuse and Substance Misuse Trainings

This Office of Head Start Initiative connects with the Opioid Response Network (ORN) and provides free educational resources and training to states, communities, and individuals in the prevention, treatment, and recovery of opioid use disorders and stimulant use. TXHSCO provided these trainings in partnership with the ORN.

Professional Development and Career Advancement

Texas early childhood practitioners, administrators, and specialists can create a free account on the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System (TECPDS) to access tools and resources to support career development. Also featuring the Texas Trainer Registry, visit TECPDS to find trainers and trainings.

Visit TECPDS

Career Advancement Resources on TECPDS

Job Board: Search the job board to find your next career opportunity on WorkInTexas.com
Texas Core Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals: Download our state’s core competencies for early childhood professionals (specific, basic concepts, skills, and abilities that early childhood professionals should learn, understand, and be able to demonstrate)
Texas Early Childhood Education Career Pathway: Review our state’s career pathway to define an early childhood professional’s level of knowledge and skill mastery and identify steps for advancing your career
Resources for Trainers: View resources specially selected to support trainers
Resources for Early Childhood Education Professionals: View resources for all early childhood professionals, including links to other organizations that provide resources, tools, and professional development opportunities
Resources from the Local Workforce Development Boards: Find resources for your region customized by your local workforce development board

Online Training

Early childhood professionals in Texas can access many online trainings, offering certificates of completion, on these platforms:

Visit CLI Engage to access many free online professional development courses. Create your free account, start learning, and earn certificates.

CLI Engage Account Set-Up
Online learning and professional development, including:
- eCircle represents more than 70 hours of online courses featuring extensive video-based demonstrations of effective instructional practices and application-based assignments and activities.
- Through Circle Infant & Toddler Teacher Training: “Play with Me” Series, learn strategies to target infant and toddler language, literacy, social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development, as well as best practices in responsive caregiving and using developmental assessments.
- Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines Training, developed with the Texas Education Agency, guides teachers through the child outcomes and instructional strategies presented in the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines (2015).
- Texas Infant, Toddler, and Three-Year-Old Early Learning Guidelines Training familiarizes caregivers with the state’s early learning guidelines across four domains: language and communication, health and motor skills, social and emotional development, and cognitive development.

Visit CLI Engage

Head Start Alignment Guide

Help your program determine how well an early childhood assessment or curriculum aligns with the domains and domain elements in the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework.

Texas Early Learning Guidelines

Our state has two documents that detail skills and abilities that young children should know and be able to do at different points in their development. The Texas Infant, Toddler, and Three-Year-Old Early Learning Guidelines, available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, include information on child development and how caregivers (parents and early childhood providers) can support optimal development in five key domains in children from birth to 48 months. The Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines were written to help preschool programs support optimal development in four-year-old children in ten skill domains. The Pre-K Guidelines align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Both of these documents are voluntary but offer valuable information on child development for teachers and early childhood providers.

Texas Infant, Toddler, and Three-Year-Old Early Learning Guidelines, available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese
Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines, available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese

See the free online professional development available for Texas’ early learning guidelines.

Children’s “Lifelong Teacher”…Engaging Parents

The Office of Head Starts’ National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement has developed resources to engage and promote children’s healthy development and learning effectively. Strategies based on research support The Parent and Family Engagement Framework covering:

Family Well Being
Positive Parent-child Relationships
Parents as First and Lifelong Educators
Families as Learners
Family Engagement in Transitions
Family Connections to Peers and Community
Families as Advocates and Leaders

The family engagement resources on CLI Engage make the most of procedures you likely already have in place, such as progress monitoring, homework, parent-teacher conferences, and open houses. CLI advocates a new focus for these efforts: supporting families in better understanding children’s development and engaging in fun, developmentally appropriate activities that build skills and strengthen the bonds between family members. Download resources for administrators, teachers, and families, including guides, checklists, and free professional development.

The Circle Activity Collection: Family is a free web-based collection of activities designed specifically for families to support children’s development and school readiness skills from birth through grade 2. Activities target seven learning domains: Language and Communication, Reading & Writing, Math, Science, Social & Emotional, Physical Development, and Art and Sensory. Most activities use everyday materials found in most households, are in both English and Spanish, and many include video examples to help parents get started.

Texas Department of Agriculture

TXHSCO and the Texas Department of Agriculture are partnering up to connect families with local food banks through the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency by the USDA! Find a local food bank near you by clicking one of the buttons below!