What Matters Most
Welcome to Gateways to Opportunity—a statewide network
designed to support Illinois early care and education professionals like you.
From credentialing to career guidance to education and training resources to
peer networking and more, Gateways to Opportunity focuses on what matters
most—helping you help children.
Gateways to Opportunity provides...
Opportunities for Change
Over a decade of research supports the idea that positive stimulation and
nurturing relationships during the early years of life create the foundation
for a child’s lifelong thinking, attitudes, and behavior. Nurturing
relationships begin with the long-lasting effects that parents have on their
children’s growth and development. And nurturing relationships continue with
highly qualified and motivated practitioners, like you, who prepare children to
achieve greater academic and social success in school and later life.
For early childhood and family support services to produce substantial long-term
educational, social, and economic benefits for Illinois, the supply of
well-qualified teaching staff, administrators, and other professionals serving
young children from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds must be
dramatically increased.
Gateways to Opportunity was designed by the
Professional Development Advisory Council (PDAC), which is made up
of highly qualified practitioners, educators, and advocates around the state.
As part of PDAC’s overall strategy to improve the stability of the early care
and education workforce, Gateways to Opportunity is
designed to increase access to and use of opportunities for professional
development. Gateways to Opportunity can be found at
www.ilgateways.com.
Gateways to Opportunity is specifically designed to
meet the needs of over 100,000 early care and education professionals in
Illinois who work in:
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Early care and education (in family child care; center-based care; and
relative, friend, and neighbor care)
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Early childhood special education
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Early intervention
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Public education (kindergarten through grade 3)
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Family support
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Head Start/Early Head Start
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Higher education
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Home visiting
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Prekindergarten
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Child Care Resource and Referral
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Other early childhood programs and settings
Opportunities for Development
Gateways to Opportunity provides a central resource to
help you meet career development goals by providing services and unique
benefits, including:
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Professional Development Advisors
— provide an opportunity to work with individuals who can help achieve
professional development and credentialing goals.
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Credentialing and recognition levels
— facilitate smooth transitions through the professional development network,
enabling professionals to obtain meaningful credentials, degrees, and support
for increased compensation.
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Career employment paths and choices
— recruit, support, and retain early care and education professionals by
identifying pathways for career advancement and movement between positions.
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Core job competencies and requirements
— guarantee that early care and education professionals, policymakers, and
advocates are familiar with the core knowledge and skills of those who care for
young children and their families in Illinois.
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Education and training resources
— coordinate, improve, and increase access to education and training required
for continued work or advancement in the field, both online and through
qualified advisors.
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Finance and compensation
— provide access to scholarships, wage supplements, and financing mechanisms to
support professional development.
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Peer networking and connections
— offer an opportunity to connect with other professionals and career options
at events and online.
Opportunities for Support
As a central resource for those who work or want to work in the field of early
care and education, Gateways to Opportunity offers
benefits to anyone seeking professional development opportunities in early care
and education, including:
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Experienced professionals—Gateways makes it easier for
early care and education professionals to enroll in degree programs, giving
them a better sense of requirements and access to further education and
training opportunities.
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Entry-level professionals—Gateways provides more
entry-level staff with formal training, bringing more qualified individuals to
the field.
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Higher education—Gateways supports faculty and
administrators in designing courses to ensure that students completing programs
are competent and that course content facilitates credit transfers.
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Employers—Gateways provides the tools to evaluate
applicants’ or employees’ knowledge and skill levels, so employers can plan
training and develop ways to determine competency upon completion of training.
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Families and children—Gateways assists parents in their
awareness of the qualifications of caregivers and educators to determine what
is best for their children.
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Advocacy organizations
—Gateways provides a central online resource for information on credentials,
training, and core competencies that advocates can use or recommend to their
clients.
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New or aspiring entrants—Gateways provides advisement on clear
pathways for education and training by listing core competencies, credentials,
and one-stop access to information on career options in the early care and
education field.
What is the vision of Gateways to Opportunity?
The partners involved in this collaborative effort are committed to developing
an integrated statewide professional development system, promoting
professionalism within the early care and education field, and providing
opportunities and compensation for early care and education professionals to
further their education and training. The system will be accessible and
affordable to the diverse community of early care and education practitioners
across Illinois—including those who are new to the field. We recognize that
this vision is possible only in collaboration with statewide, regional, and
local organizations and funding entities (private and public) committed to this
common purpose. Gateways to Opportunity can
be found at www.ilgateways.com.
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