Professional Development Centers
Central Massachusetts
We offer professional development and learning, and program development and quality improvement training for licensed early care and education programs and early educators working in our region. We also provide consultation for family child care owners and out-of-school time and center directors and administrators. Please be in touch with us if you are interested in working with a skilled coach offering support for all aspects of managing an ECE business including curriculum development and improvement, professional development and training for staff, and meeting the social, emotional, and educational needs of families and children. Additional training opportunities can be found on our online training page.
Central Massachusetts Staff
Mary Watson Avery
StrongStart Central Mass PDC Coordinator
Biography:
Mary Watson Avery is the StrongStart Central MA PDC Coordinator, and the Director of the Connected Beginnings Training Institute at the UMass Donahue Institute. Her career has focused on work with children birth to 8 years, building nurturing environments in family services, and early childhood practitioner professional development. Her special interests include the support of very young children at risk; the development of trauma-sensitive learning environments; effective parent engagement; best practice in coaching across settings; and the mentoring of early childhood trainers.
With substantial experience in developing curriculum, planning professional development, as well as coaching and mentoring groups and individuals, Mary is a well-respected educator across the Commonwealth and the region. In addition to training on a wide variety of topics related to the social-emotional well-being of very young children and their families, Mary is a master trainer in all aspects of Pyramid Model implementation. Mary earned a master's in infant & toddler studies from Wheelock College with additional training in trauma-informed practices at Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Contact Information
StrongStart Central Mass PDC
Phone: 617-448-9729
Email
CentralMaPDC@EECStrongStart.org
Coaching:
We also provide coaching for family childcare owners and out-of-school time and center directors and administrators. Please be in touch with us if you are interested in working with a skilled coach offering support for all aspects of managing an ECE business including curriculum development and improvement, professional development and training for staff, and meeting the social, emotional, and educational needs of families and children.