ExceleRate Illinois has training requirements for several Standards for the on-site administrator and/or teaching staff.
Please use the pdf Training Requirements for Licensed Child Care Centers (484 KB) as a guide to ensure completion of the trainings for the Circle of Quality your program is pursuing.
For a training to be ExceleRate approved it must also be Gateways Registry approved and appear on Section 3, 4, or 5 of the individual’s Professional Development Record (PDR).
The majority of the ExceleRate required trainings are available online through the Gateways i-learning system. Other trainings can be located on the Gateways Training Calendar.
ExceleRate Standards that include training not available through Gateways i-learning are included below:
Learning Environment (Standard 1A)
Introduction to the Environment Rating Scales (ERS)- accepted from 2007- June 2025. This training is no longer offered.
How ERS Works, Illinois' new ERS training is now available only as a virtual training. Dates are posted on the Gateways Training Calendar by searching “How ERS Works” or “Cómo funciona ERS” as keywords.
*If you have previously taken Introduction to ERS for ExceleRate eligibility, you do not need to complete How ERS Works.
Other ExceleRate-approved entities that offer ERS training:
Child Care Education Institute (CCEI)
Search “ITERS-3” or “ECERS-3”
Training developed by the Scale authors offered through Kaplan Early Learning Company.
From the dropdown, choose ITERS-3, ECERS-3, SACERS-U or FCCERS-R. Some versions are also available in Spanish.
These are online, self-paced training modules. After payment is made, login information will come from
Program Administration (Standard 3A)
Getting Ready for the Program Administration Scale (PAS)- 2nd Edition