SLA is an approved RID Certification Maintenance Program Sponsor and offers a variety of professional development activities for interpreters!

Sign Language Associates, Inc. (SLA) is furthering its commitment to interpreter excellence by opening the Professional Education Center, which will expand education services in several new arenas.

The Richmond, Virginia-based PEC will provide nationwide professional growth opportunities that include: diagnostic assessments; individual and small group tutoring, both in person and via distance technology; interpreter assessment preparation, skill-building seminars; leadership training; and, individual RID certification maintenance opportunities. The PEC seeks to provide training opportunities to certified interpreters as they continue their quest for life-long learning. Another goal is to close the gap between graduation from an Interpreter Training Program and interpreter certification by offering training geared toward the needs of pre-certified interpreters.

Opportunities for RID Continuing Education Units abound with these programs and will multiply in the near future with an expansion to include on-line study groups, summer practicum opportunities, self-study modules, train-the-trainer sessions, mini-institutes and more.

As a further commitment to the profession at large, PEC is also available for leadership training to interpreter and consumer organizations. Students, interpreters and interpreter trainers can all access their link to life long learning through the new SLA Professional Education Center.

PEC OFFERS

• Conference Speakers
• Leadership Training
• CMP/CEU Administration Program: Daunted by the CMP process, need CEU’s? Independent Study opportunities are all around you! Independent thinking interpreters have taken advantage of SLA's thorough review process and reasonable rates for study projects ranging from academic coursework, conference/meeting attendance, book reviews, research projects, curriculum development, and teaching experiences.
• PEP on the Road is SLA's national outreach project sending our trainers and workshops to interpreters across the country. Costs are reasonable and allow local groups to earn money from training events while importing well known instructors and exciting professional development opportunities. Our instructors can train on a variety of topics. Recent workshops include: RID Test Prep, Idioms, Interpreting Shakespeare, Mentoring, Cultural Competence, Sign Space & Text Analysis, A Potpourri of Interpreting Skills, Voice Interpreting and Error Recovery.
• Interpreter Assessment Preparation
• Tutoring Session
• Staff Development is a priority at SLA! Our interpreters assist in developing a calendar of events to meet specific areas of need. Internal programs include benchmark videotapes, study groups, peer review groups, In-Service training sessions and workshops
• Diagnostic Assessments

For more information on PEC, please contact Director Greg Camp at 1-800-849-1401