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Professional Development Opportunities

It's our goal to provide a broad array of quality learning opportunities for those who work with youth in the third space and out-of-school time. We also want to emphasize that many of the trainings are for anyone working with youth, and we hope you will find something that lights you up and helps you further your career, hone your skills, and improve outcomes for youth.

Request a Workshop

At any point in the year, afterschool program directors, site directors, or other authorized individuals charged with securing professional development trainings can request to schedule a specific training. Some workshops can be provided in a virtual format. The cost of trainings is typically $120/hour (minimum 2 hours per training) though pricing may vary according to training length and partnership agreement. Licensed school-age programs are eligible for a cost reduction of 50% (limited reduced funding is available per year). Additional training costs may apply.

Click here for a list of current professional development workshop offerings and to request a training.

And visit our Event Calendar to find upcoming scheduled workshops.

SEL Methods

Vermont Afterschool offers Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Methods workshops that have been developed to help adults improve their practice in supporting social, emotional, and cognitive development in their programs. 

 

Click here for more info and to register.

Afterschool Essentials

Afterschool Essentials is an accelerated half-year program that Vermont Afterschool offers FREE for afterschool staff working in licensed afterschool programs. It is designed to meet the needs of the professional with limited experience in the afterschool setting and is connected to our Afterschool Foundations Certificate.


Click here for more info and to register.

L.E.A.D.

This four-part series is for leaders of licensed programs in the afterschool field in Vermont and is specifically designed for experienced directors and site coordinators who are looking for that next level of growth and development.


Click here for more info and to register.

Boot Camp Basics

These 1.5-hour workshops are designed for brand new staff in afterschool, summer, third-space, and out-of-school programs. It’s a great way for new staff to orient to the field and learn basic best practices in their work, as well as for returning staff to further their own professional development goals. These real-time online trainings are FREE for anyone working with school-age youth in out-of-school time programs, and are approved by Northern Lights at CCV.


Click here for more info and to register.

Helping Them to Lead the Way

Do you want to support a group of youth to create change in their lives? Helping Them to Lead the Way is a five-part workshop series on the knowledge-base and skill sets for raising up youth voices and supporting them to create the change they see is needed in their lives, schools, and/or communities. From individual self-advocacy to empowering community level youth leadership, this series will walk participants through an Empowerment Model for creating youth-led change, while supporting them in creating their own youth leadership development plan.


This series will provide participants with knowledge of adolescent development, leadership, and relationship content relevant to each phase of the empowerment model, and will present key principles and activities of youth empowerment, while supporting participants to develop their own youth leadership goal and accompanying plan to achieve that goal. Culminating in the presentation of participants’ youth empowerment project plans and the design of an evaluation of their effectiveness from the youths’ perspective, this series provides the content and experiences for developing and planning a youth-led change initiative in partnership with youth and empowering their leadership development as change-makers.


  1. Micro-credential course overview, Introduction to the Awareness Phase and the Power of Relationships | Thursday, October 26, 2023 (10:00 AM–4:00 PM | in-person at our South Burlington office
  2. The Visioning Phase, Leadership Practices and Youth Voice Frameworks | Thursday, November 16,2023 (3:00–5:30 PM) | Virtual
  3. The Transformation Phase, Supporting Leadership Development and Creating Change | Thursday, January 18, 2024 (3:00–5:30 PM) | Virtual
  4. The Growth Phase, Laying the Groundwork and Preparing the Adults for Youth-Led Change | Thursday, February 22, 2024 (3:00–5:30 PM) | Virtual
  5. Project Presentations, Peer Evaluation, Reflection, and Celebration | Friday, March 22, 2024 (10:00AM–2:00 PM) | in-person at our South Burlington office

Cost: FREE


Registration: Contact Becky Wilcke (becky@vermontafterschool.org) for more information.

Online College Courses through CCV

Vermont Afterschool partners with the Child Development Division (CDD) to offer FREE 3-credit, online courses for afterschool professionals through the Community College of Vermont (CCV). This is a tuition-free opportunity for those who are currently working in a regulated child care setting.

Click here for more info and to register.

Afterschool & Youth Work Certificate

The Afterschool and Youth Work Certificate is offered by the Community College of Vermont (CCV) as a way to help youth work professionals advance in their careers. The certificate provides students with essential skills to develop, support, and administer high-quality afterschool and youth programs for young people ages 5-18. Emphasis is on developing programs that use youth voice, active learning, planning and reflection, and supporting effective collaboration with families and community partners. Vermont Afterschool worked with CCV to develop this certificate, which can be completed fully online for a total of 24 credits. Scholarships are available.


Click here for more info.

Youth Mental Health First Aid

If you work with adolescents, are a parent or caregiver of a kid age 12-18, or are wanting to learn how you can support youth experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or in crisis, please consider taking this free 8-hour workshop.


Click here for more info.

Communities of Practice

In recognition that we have so much to learn from each other, we offer different types of community of practice as a way for staff to come together and reflect on how they can improve personal and program practices. Learning comes from facilitated discussions with each other. These monthly communities of practice are FREE.


Click here for more info and to register.

Field Forums

Vermont Afterschool regularly hosts field forums on different topics relating to out-of-school time providers and professionals including health, safety guidance, funding, advocacy, and more. Visit our Event Calendar to find upcoming field forums to attend.

Vermont Afterschool Conference

Thank you to the 200+ out-of-school time directors, staff, educators, and partners who came together November 2nd and 3rd, 2023 for our 14th Annual Conference to:

  • Reconnect with peers and friends from all corners of the state and reflect on the critical work you all do every day.
  • Celebrate our two major legislative victories on our path to create universal afterschool and summer learning for all Vermont youth (Act 76 and Act 78).
  • Recharge your batteries through learning and good conversation, and plan for the NEXT.
  • Be inspired by Lana Hailemariam and reminded to choose to be the memory that’s great for someone.

It was so wonderful to spend the day with all of you and we can’t wait to see you again!

Bookmark our conference webpage to stay updated on plans for our 15th annual conference in 2024!