Prime Time Palm Beach County, Inc. is committed to strengthening the skills of those working in the afterschool field. As an outgrowth of this commitment, Prime Time and its partners realized the importance of providing practitioners with choices as they make plans for their personal and professional development.

 A survey of the workforce revealed that afterschool practitioners in Palm Beach County have varied backgrounds, both educational and experience-based. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all perspective could not be adopted. Armed with this information, workgroups were formed comprising individuals from a variety of positions in the field to design formal and informal professional development tracks that would offer practitioners different entry and exit points, depending on their needs. It was also important for practitioners to receive credit for their commitment to their personal and professional development so a partnership was formed between Prime Time and Palm Beach Community College (PBCC).

 The partnership with PBCC allows for coursework to be offered in a variety of modalities and offers practitioners the option of receiving credit hours or CEUs once coursework has been successfully completed.  Both formal and informal pathways are available and include certificate and degree programs.

To download a copy of the Professional Development handbook click here.

For a link to PBCC course offerings and programs please click here.

 An afterschool practitioner registry system has also been created to serve as a database that stores information related to an applicant’s training and professional development history. Members of the registry are able to track training and coursework, print a detailed report of trainings completed, and join a group of professional colleagues working in the field.