As research has shown that well-educated and highly skilled early childhood teachers are strongly linked with high quality and optimal child outcomes at entry into kindergarten, First Things First leads the effort to develop a comprehensive and well-articulated professional development system within Arizona.
This system ensures that more early care and education professionals have access to education and training to achieve degrees, credentials and specialized skills to promote children’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. As a result of higher educational attainment, specialized in-service training and other incentives, more staff will remain in the field of early care and education.
