Shaping the ECE classroom environment
This Program is Perfect For
- Current or aspiring site supervisors, program directors, or child care center owners
- Passionate educators looking to cultivate positive learning environments and impactful family–staff partnerships
- Learners needing flexible, online-based professional development aligned with state licensing, excluding international or workforce funding
Courses
Program Requirements
Take 4 courses (20 quarter units)
- End with certificate of completion review.
1. Required Course(s):
- Online Traditional Complete online with instructor-set deadlines.
Online Traditional courses have a structured learning environment and fixed deadlines. This course is largely self-study with instructor guidance and includes online learning modules, assignments, and/or quizzes. All course materials and assignments will be available on Canvas, our learning management system.
For this section, student access begins on January 6, 2026. All course work must be completed by 11:59 pm on February 17, 2026.
You will be granted access in Canvas to your course site and course materials approximately 24 hours prior to the published start date of the course.
Required Text:
From Parents to Partners, 2nd ed., Janis Keyser, Redleaf Press, 2017. ISBN: 9781605545141
- Online Traditional Complete online with instructor-set deadlines.
Online Traditional courses have a structured learning environment and fixed deadlines. This course is largely self-study with instructor guidance and includes online learning modules, assignments, and/or quizzes. All course materials and assignments will be available on Canvas, our learning management system.
For this section, student access begins on February 11, 2026. All course work must be completed by 11:59 pm on April 7, 2026.
You will be granted access in Canvas to your course site and course materials approximately 24 hours prior to the published start date of the course.
Required Text:
Developing Mentoring and Coaching Relationships in Early Care and Education, Marilyn Chu, Pearson, 2014. ISBN: 9780132658232
2. Completion Review:
Please enroll in the Early Childhood Education: Supervision and Administration Certificate Completion Fee only once all of the certificate requirements have been met and your final grades are posted.
Recommended course sequence
Flexible course sequence
Courses may be taken in any order provided the prerequisites are met.
Substitutions
To receive your certificate
Professional development
Site Supervisor and Program Director credentialing
You must complete six semester units of coursework in administration and supervision of child care and development programs and two semester units in adult supervision to qualify for Site Supervisor and Program Director permits. Our courses help qualify you for these permits. Please go to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to learn how to qualify for Site Supervisor and Program Director permits by taking our courses.
Please visit the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing for more information.
Licensure and Certification Policy
This is a mandatory licensure (permit) for this field of practice.
Please see our Licensure and Certification Policy to learn more.
Requisite knowledge
Required coursework for this professional certificate
Anyone is welcome to enroll in individual courses, provided they meet the specific prerequisites for those courses.
To qualify for a certificate in Early Childhood Education: Supervision and Administration individuals must meet the following criteria:
- Completion of the ECE: Associate Teacher certificate (20 units)
- Completion of the ECE: Advanced Teacher certificate (17 units)
- Hold an associate degree or have completed 90 quarter units (60 semester units) in General Education.
- Completion of 350 days of experience in an instructional capacity in a child care and development program, working at least three hours per day within the last four years.
NOTE: Students who have a bachelor’s degree or a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential may request a waiver of some required coursework and experience. Contact extension@ucsc.edu for more information.
Grade requirements
Please note that only letter grades of C or higher may be applied to a certificate, and in some programs, students may have more stringent requirements. Students in most employer- and government-sponsored payment programs, such as workforce development, as well as international students on F-1 visas, need to maintain a B average to meet their requirements.
See Grading and Credits Policy for further information.

Establish Candidacy
Instructors
Certificate Program Advisory Committee
ALICIA ARIZMENDI, M.S.
TUPE Coordinator & Student Support Specialist, Morgan Hill Unified School District
ANGEL CHANG, M.Ed., PH.D.
Bilingual Educator and Researcher, Stanford University
Instructor, UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Early Childhood Education Program
MELISSA LE, B.A., MSTC
Instructor and Chair, Early Childhood Education: Associate Certificate Program, UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
NINET MORADI, M.A.
Instructor and Chair, UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Early Childhood Education: Supervision and Administration Program
NELL REDANIEL, CBEST
Lead Teacher, Bright Horizons
President and State Director, Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CAAEYC
ROBYN STONE, M.A.
Instructor, UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Early Childhood Education Program
