TECPDS for Head Start Programs

The Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System (TECPDS) and the Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office (THSSCO) have partnered with Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) to support career development, provide resources, and more!

TECPDS for Head Start Programs

Collaboration on behalf of children and families is one of Head Start’s highest priorities. Since 1990, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has awarded Head Start State Collaboration grants to support the development of multi-agency and public/private partnerships at the State level. By forming this strategic partnership with TECPDS, Head Start can expand its mission and continue to provide resources to support early childhood educators and their families.

For Center Directors/Administrators

Center directors must have an account on TECPDS. Once you create your free TECPDS account, Center directors will be able to connect to their staff and affiliated programs.

Connect staff to your Head Start program (called “centers” on TECPDS)
Utilize the certificate generation tool for events/trainings
Safely store and track professional development
Create & manage verified trainings for approval by TECPDS
Access center director tools to manage your center and staff professional development

For Practitioners

Practitioners (teachers) are not required to have a TECPDS account, but it is considered best practice by the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Child Care Regulation. Practitioner accounts will be able to:

Find and track your career pathway level and learn about opportunities for advancement
Access to reports including the Find my Career Pathway Tool
Link to your current employer sharing education, employment, and training information
Request validation of records
Search early childhood job postings
Access professional development tools and resources

Career Advancement Resources on TECPDS

Job Board: Search the job board to find your next career opportunity on WorkInTexas.com
Texas Core Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals: Download our state’s core competencies for early childhood professionals (specific, basic concepts, skills, and abilities that early childhood professionals should learn, understand, and be able to demonstrate)
Texas Early Childhood Education Career Pathway: Review our state’s career pathway to define an early childhood professional’s level of knowledge and skill mastery and identify steps for advancing your career
Resources for Trainers: View resources specially selected to support trainers
Resources for Early Childhood Education Professionals: View resources for all early childhood professionals, including links to other organizations that provide resources, tools, and professional development opportunities
Resources from the Local Workforce Development Boards: Find resources for your region customized by your local workforce development board
Certificate Generation Tool: Create standardized certificates and sign-in sheets that include all state-required information for early childhood trainings in Texas. The Certificate Generation Tool provides opportunities for all trainers to create certificates that meet all state requirements for their training participants. Available to all TECPDS account holders, use this tool to upload certificates directly into the TECPDS accounts of training attendees (if they provided their personal account number). Use the Certificate Generation Tool to create certificates for your face-to-face and online trainings, as well as coaching and mentoring! The following How-To Guides provide details on how and where to use the Certificate Generation Tool.

Online Training

Early childhood professionals in Texas can access many online trainings, offering certificates of completion, on these platforms:

Access to the training calendar on TECPDS
CLI Engage: free, online training for infant, toddler, and preschool teachers.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: now integrated with TECPDS accounts for automatic certificate transfer.
Camp Fire USA
Collaborative for Children

Workforce Registry Account Checklist

Use this checklist for assistance with setting up your Workforce Registry Account on TECPDS.

Workforce Registry Checklist

Tips for completing your individual early childhood career profile:

Education

Add your highest level of education (ex. High School Diploma, Bachelor’s Degree), any college coursework that is early childhood/education-related or business-related, and credentials or certifications (ex. Child Development Associate Credential, CPR/1st Aid, Directors Credential, Transportation Certificate).

Experience

List your current early childhood employment from the current year and from where you worked last year if it was in a different program, and any connections/affiliates to your current center on TECPDS.

Professional Development

List your professional development certificates for validation, including clock hours, CPE hours, conferences for the current year, and conferences from last year. (TECPDS staff will review up to the last five years of professional development for validation purposes. These include clock hours, CPE hours, and conferences. Check with your Local Workforce Development/Texas Rising Star mentor for the specific number of years they suggest should be submitting.)

Clock hours are typically provided to early childhood professionals when completing professional development. In this section, turn in certificates from Training/Workshops, Webinars, Professional Learning Communities, Coaching and Mentoring, Online Training Modules, and Self Study courses.
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Units are typically provided to school district staff. If your certificates have CPE’s listed, this is the section where you will insert them.
Conferences typically have multiple training sessions. If you attend a conference, you can list out all sessions that you attended in this section.

Miscellaneous

Any documents that would not be included in the experience, education, or professional development section. (Suggested documents include a resume, professional development plans, orientation documents, signed handbook pages, other documents that highlight your career.)

Join the Texas Workforce Registry

Create your free TECPDS account to track your education, experience, and professional development to plan and advance your career pathway!

Sign-Up

Reminder: each user MUST have their own account. Do not share your username and password with anyone else.

Connect to Your Center

This step is highly recommended for all center directors and classroom staff, and only takes a few clicks!

The Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System (TECPDS) and the Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office (THSSCO) have partnered with Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) to support career development, provide resources, and more!