Vermont requires licensed childcare staff to complete 12 hours per year for teachers and 14 hours per year for directors of continuing education as a condition of state licensing. Families training counts toward these requirements — topics such as family engagement, cultural competence, and community partnerships are recognized qualifying categories under the Vermont AHS DCF CDD continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Vermont and offers IACET‑accredited Families courses that staff can complete on demand, with all completions tracked automatically in brightwheel.
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 12 hours per training year |
| Annual CE hours (directors) | 14 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Families maps to | family engagement, cultural competence, and community partnerships |
| Regulatory authority | Vermont AHS DCF CDD |
| brightwheel approved in Vermont | ✓ Yes — accepted for Vermont CE requirements |
| Training records | ✓ Tracked automatically in brightwheel dashboard |
| Families courses in Vermont | View brightwheel courses |
About Families (CDA IV)
Families — CDA Competency Area IV — covers the knowledge and skills educators need to build positive, respectful, and collaborative relationships with the families they serve, honoring diversity in culture, language, and family structure.
Family engagement is one of the strongest predictors of children’s school readiness and long‑term outcomes. Early childhood educators who build genuine partnerships with families bridge the home‑school divide and give children a foundation of consistency and trust that extends well beyond the classroom.
Vermont Families training requirements
Vermont childcare teachers must complete 12 hours of annual continuing education, and directors must complete 14 hours, as a condition of maintaining a license from the Vermont AHS DCF CDD. Families training counts toward these hours — family engagement, cultural competence, and community partnerships are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Vermont and offers IACET‑accredited courses aligned with the Families competency area.
Both teachers and directors can complete brightwheel’s Families courses on demand — each course is 1 hour, self‑paced, and includes an assessment with a certificate of completion. All completions are recorded automatically in the brightwheel administrator dashboard, making compliance documentation straightforward for Vermont licensing audits.
What Families training covers
brightwheel’s Families courses cover the knowledge and skills early childhood educators need to support children in this competency area. Topics include:
STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) and Families
STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) is Vermont’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS), and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) →How brightwheel connects to the Vermont training dashboard
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in Vermont
Meet Vermont Families training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Families courses accepted in Vermont — with automatic tracking built in.
View full course roster
Accreditation: Brightwheel is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.