Professional Development Resources
Enhance Learning
At STAR NET, we believe that access to high-quality resources empowers educators, caregivers, and families to support young children in reaching their fullest potential. Search our Recommended Resources for more.
Illinois Division of Early Childhood (IDEC)
Illinois Subdivision of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, a nonprofit organization advocating for individuals who work with or on behalf of children with special needs, birth through age eight, and their families.
Illinois Resource Center (IRC)
The Center, through its Illinois Resource Center (IRC), provides an array of professional development and support services for teachers and administrators who serve linguistically and culturally diverse students, with an emphasis on English-language learners (ELLs).
Illinois STAR NET
Illinois STAR NET promotes excellence through best practices in early childhood education for young children with disabilities. STAR NET Region II and VI represents two of the six statewide STAR NET regional offices. Visit the Illinois STAR NET website for a map of all the STAR NET Regions and counties served.
Illinois State Board of Education – Professional Learning Calendar
ISBE Standards and Instruction Professional Learning calendar of current professional development opportunities in Illinois, searchable by grade level and topic. Includes a listing of ISBE Approved Illinois Professional Development Providers.
ISBE Funded Technical Assistance Projects
The Special Education Department provides comprehensive technical assistance through a variety of statewide projects. These initiatives are designed to:
- Deliver expert guidance on promising practices for educating students with disabilities.
- Operate statewide training and technical assistance programs to support educators and administrators.
- Administer comprehensive systems of personnel development for special education professionals.
- Manage grant programs that enhance special education service delivery in schools.
Our mission is to ensure that schools and educators have the resources, knowledge, and support needed to provide high-quality, evidence-based, inclusive education for all students with disabilities.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Meet national standards of quality! Equip your program with tools that provide the best learning experiences for young children, and provide student educators with the highest quality professional preparation.
OHSU Inclusive Language Guide
Inclusive language puts our humanity at the center; it allows everyone to feel recognized, valued, invited and motivated to contribute at their highest level. To become an anti-racist institution, OHSU must take concrete action to change our culture and the experiences of OHSU members and stakeholders. If our words but not our deeds change, we have failed. Yet learning about and using respectful, identity-affirming language is key to creating a welcoming environment that is antiracist and embraces diversity as a whole.
The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning
The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning, is a nationally recognized professional development and educational services organization dedicated to better teaching and learning in early childhood, elementary, secondary and adult education. Education professionals who serve distressed and at-risk populations- children at risk of academic failure, young children with special needs, students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, refugees and immigrants, is a focus. The Center also serves professionals that work with adults who seek to advance their position by obtaining U.S. citizenship, a GED, improved language skills, or basic skills needed to hold and advance from service jobs.