It's a Rap

April 27th join educators, school leaders, and workforce partners from across the state in NYC for the NYS Educator Apprenticeship Summit 2026: Serving Our Communities. This one-day event will showcase apprenticeship programs transforming pathways into childcare and teaching across early childhood and K-12 education. Over the past few years, we’ve learned valuable lessons: how to engage diverse learners, support apprentices through coursework and supervision, and build sustainable pipelines that truly meet community needs. Now, it’s time to harness that knowledge and momentum to move the needle on workforce development for the child-serving sector.

With an expanded focus on early childhood apprenticeships, the summit highlights innovative strategies to strengthen the entire child-serving workforce, supporting both high-quality care for children and investing in long-term economic development for New York State. With so many organizations working toward similar goals, this summit is your chance to connect, collaborate, and learn from leaders shaping the future of New York’s educator workforce. Explore proven strategies, hear first-hand success stories, and leave with actionable tools to strengthen apprenticeship pipelines in your own facilities, schools, and districts.

Here’s a snapshot of what we have planned:

Panel Discussions

• Learning and Sharing in a Community of Practice
• Recruitment and Retention Strategies Piloting to Scale: Partnering for Success
• Voices from the Field, hear from local apprentices

Interactive Breakout Sessions

• The Shift in Supervision: Managing Training, Release, Coursework, and Cost
• Prepping for Success: Using Direct Entry or Pre-Apprenticeship to Build a Pipeline and Rollout the Curriculum – Includes early childhood-focused programs
• Leveraging Stackable Apprenticeship Titles and Funding for Economic Mobility and Workforce Success
• Meeting Community Needs Through Spanish-Language Apprenticeship Programs
• Making Apprenticeship Work in a Large Urban District

Experts to Energize the Discussion (to name a few):

• Amy Way, Executive Director, Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality, NYC DOE
• Claudine Campanelli, Senior Director, New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, CUNY
• Leo Gordon, Vice President, Career and Technical Education, United Federation of Teachers
• Will Lopez, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, BuildWithin
• Ismail Ocasio, Executive Director, Apprenticeship Accelerator, New York City Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development
• Chris Pinheiro, Director of Apprenticeship and Infrastructure, New York State Department of Labor
• Julie Reiss, Co-Founder, Day One Early Learning Center
• Chris White, Vice Chancellor for Workforce Development, SUNY

And a few surprise guests you won’t want to miss!

Register Here

EDHUBNY is the state’s leader and intermediary in registered apprenticeships providing technical assistance to serve the child-focused workforce, assisting potential sponsors in the registration process, , providing group sponsorship to opportunities across all child-centered titles, and supporting the expansion into early childhood education. Their work ensures programs are strategic, efficient, and impactful, creating a continuum of care for children while investing in the state’s workforce and economy.

Don’t miss this chance to build momentum, make connections, bring innovative ideas back to your community and, ultimately, move the needle. Together, we can advance pathways into education careers and strengthen the workforce that serves every child.