On August 7th, 2025, the Office of Early Learning hosted the 2025 Early Learning Institute at the Cultural Education Center in Albany, New York. Over 125 teachers, specialists, and administrators gathered for a day of free, in-person professional development focused on the arts, literacy, science, play, and more! It was a day filled with inspiration, collaboration, and meaningful learning that we hope will continue to impact classrooms across New York State in the 2025-2026 school year.

New York State Education Department Regent Dr. Aramina Vega Ferrer provided opening remarks at the event, focusing on the importance of centering the arts in early childhood education and how this fits in with New York State's Portrait of a Graduate.

As always, the NYS Learning Standards for the Arts should be the foundation for arts instruction and planning in the classroom.

Slides from the breakout sessions and panels at the Early Learning Institute have been added to our Professional Development page and include sessions on:

• Early Childhood Strings Pathways
• Responsive Teaching
• The P-3 Toolkit
• P-3 Literacy Best Practices: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics and Fluency
• P-3 Literacy Best Practices: Comprehension, Oral Language, Vocabulary, and Writing
• Science Everywhere/Cultural Connections Toolkit
• The Power of Play

If you have any questions or suggestions for future content, feel free to contact the Office of Early Learning at OEL@nysed.gov.