Professional Development
Online, on-demand and self-paced trainings to help you become a more impactful educator.
Program
NC Birth-to-Three Quality Initiative
We partner with early childhood programs across North Carolina to elevate infant–toddler care through expert coaching, training and consistent statewide support.
Coaching, Mentoring and Training
The Birth-to-Three Quality Initiative supports early care and education centers across all 100 North Carolina counties through coaching, mentoring, and training for teachers and administrators working with children birth to three. Regional birth-to-three specialists and anchor specialists provide on-site support and virtual learning collaboratives to improve the quality and availability of infant-toddler care statewide.
In 2004, North Carolina established the Statewide Infant Toddler Quality Enhancement Project (ITQEP) with funding from the NC Division of Child Development. The goal of the project was to improve the quality and availability of care for children aged birth to three in North Carolina by supporting early care and education centers through coaching, mentoring and training. In August 2022, the project became the Birth-to-Three Quality Initiative.
The project team includes birth-to-three specialists (B-3S) housed in regional lead CCR&R agencies throughout the state and a project management team employed by Early Years.
B-3QI serves all 100 counties across the state, and regional birth-to-three specialists provide leadership, coaching, training and hands-on support for teachers and site administrators. A team of anchor birth-to-three specialists provides virtual cohort-based learning collaboratives for birth-to-three teachers and administrators across the state. The project is rigorously monitored to ensure consistency, equitability and quality of services delivered statewide, and its impact is evaluated by several measurable outcomes.
B-3QI Quarterly Newsletter
Stay in the know with B-3QI. We provide relevant information to birth-to-three teachers and administrators committed to high-quality care and education. We will highlight project updates and offerings, offer tips and scenarios based on NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development and ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies, and include profiles of our birth-to-three specialists who are ready to support you.
Have Questions? We Can Help!
Professional Development
Birth-to-three specialists provide hands-on, individualized coaching support for teachers and administrators. This assistance is grounded in the evidence-based Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) framework and includes:
- Building positive relationships with children, families and coworkers
- Creating environments to support social-emotional development and the developing capacity of infants and young children to:
- Form close and secure adult and peer relationships
- Experience, regulate and express emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways
- Explore the environment and learn social skills
- Implementing high-quality care practices–as defined by ZERO TO THREE’s Critical Competencies for Early Childhood Educators, ITERS-3 and Infant and Toddler CLASS for group care that provides a solid foundation for infant and toddler development
- Providing support for developmental monitoring and screening through the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Learn the Signs Act Early materials
