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Month: September 2024

News

September 4, 2024

APOST Offering Fall Professional Development and Training Workshops

Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) is offering a series of professional learning workshops for out-of-school educators this fall.

Fall Professional Development

Each workshop is led by local facilitators who are trained to implement the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality training curriculum. All events are located in CoLab18 in Nova Place unless indicated otherwise as a webinar.

Registration is required and closes two days before each event or when the session is full.

September events include:

  • Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse – Tuesday, Sept. 10, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Committee of 70 Civic Engagement Programming (webinar) – Tuesday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
  • Ask, Listen, Encourage – Friday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Structure and Clear Limits – Thursday, Sept. 26, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Promoting Responsibility and Leadership – Friday, Sept. 27, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

October events include:

  • Foundations and Self-Awareness of Cognitive Development – Thursday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Recognizing and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect (webinar) – Tuesday, Oct. 8, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • LEGO Brick Club for Providers – Thursday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
  • Youth Voice – Friday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Foundations and Self-Awareness of Cognitive Development – Thursday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Cooperative Learning – Thursday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Reframing Conflict – Friday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • LEGO Brick Club for Providers – Thursday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

November events include:

  • Building Community – Friday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Structure and Clear Limits – Thursday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Promoting Responsibility and Leadership – Friday, Nov.  8, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse – Tuesday, Nov. 12, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Planning and Reflection – Friday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Identifying Student Homelessness – Thursday, Nov. 21, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
  • LEGO Brick Club for Providers – Thursday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

December events include:

  • Recognizing and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect (webinar) – Tuesday, Dec. 10, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • LEGO Brick Club for Providers – Thursday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

For more information on fall professional development, visit the online listings for the APOST series.

News

September 3, 2024

Report: Fewer Pennsylvania Teachers Getting Certified

A new report by Penn State College’s Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis found that fewer Pennsylvania teachers are getting certified and many are leaving the field altogether.

Learn More

In his study, “Pennsylvania Teacher Attrition and Turnover from 2014 to 2024,” Penn State professor Ed Fuller notes that the 2022-23 state’s teacher attrition rate of 7.7% was the highest on record. 

According to a Chalkbeat report, Pennsylvania was within the range of national trends during that time period. About 9,500 Pennsylvania teachers left the profession between 2022 and 2023, which led to concern that attrition rates would exacerbate ongoing teacher shortages. While demand for teachers has increased, the supply has decreased.

But Fuller’s study found that fewer teachers left the profession in Pennsylvania than in the prior year. The teacher attrition rate from 2022-23 to 2023-24 dropped from 7.7% to 6.7%. This equals about 8,326 teachers.

However, the attrition rate is still greater than the rates for six of the 10 years since 2014-15.

Early Learning Shortages

The teacher shortage in Pennsylvania extends to child care and early learning professionals. A September 2023 survey by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s PolicyLab on behalf of StartStrongPA detailed a child care staffing crisis in 762 of the state’s child care programs as well as its effect on working families’ ability to access care.

That study found that 2,395 open positions across the state have resulted in the closure of 934 classrooms. It also found that child care providers’ inability to recruit and retain staff is having a direct impact on the quality of their programming. An additional 26,000 children could be served at state child care programs if fully staffed, the report found.

Similarly, a total of 145,010 Pennsylvania children, ages three and four, are eligible for high-quality kindergarten – but only 46% of them have access, according to 2024 Pre-K for PA fact sheets.

Pre-K for PA’s campaign amid the 2024-25 state budget process called for increased investments in Pre-K Counts to address teacher shortages and greater access to eligible children.

News

September 2, 2024

Free Training Available: Strengthening Business Practices for Child Care Programs

The National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assistance is collaborating with the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) to offer Strengthening Business Practices for Child Care Programs starting in October.

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The content and activities in the four offered modules are designed to strengthen child care providers’ foundational knowledge of sound fiscal management and business operations.

The four modules of business practices content in the series include:

  • Budgets, Projections, and Planning
  • Financial Reports and Internal Controls
  • Marketing for Child Care Programs
  • Staff Recruitment and Retention for Center-Based Child Care Programs

There are two versions of the series – one for center-based providers and another for family child care providers.

Business Practices for Child Care Programs Topics

During the fiscal management portion of the series – which focuses on budgets, projections, and planning – attendees will:

  • Learn a process for building a budget and how to use it for decision-making throughout the year
  • Understand how to project business costs, generate additional income, and plan strategically for future goals

On the topics of financial reports and internal controls, the series will teach attendees how to:

  • Introduce financial reports that can help to better manage a program’s finances
  • Understand the concept of internal controls and how they can strengthen a program’s fiscal health

For the child care program marketing section of the series, attendees will learn to:

  • Be able to articulate the features and benefits of the program and understand how to use them as marketing tools
  • Appreciate how data can inform marketing efforts to achieve greater success, become more cost-effective, and use time more efficiently

On the topics of staff recruitment and retention, participants will learn best practices related to recruiting, interviewing, and hiring new employees. It will also cover:

  • Having a framework for building and effective orientation plan for new employees and being familiar with the components of a staff handbook
  • Identifying strategies for providing feedback to employees

Modules

PQAS hours are available for those taking the course. Courses are offered in English and Spanish. 

Center-based modules include:

  • Budgets, Projections, and Planning; Monday, Nov. 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Financial Reports and Internal Controls; Monday, Dec. 9 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Marketing Your Program; Monday, Jan. 6 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • Recruiting and Retaining Staff; Monday, Feb. 3 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Family-based modules include:

  • Budgets, Projections, and Planning; Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  • Financial Reports and Internal Controls; Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  • Marketing Your Program; Monday, Nov. 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Spanish family-based modules include:

  • Budgets, Projections, and Planning; Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to noon
  • Financial Reports and Internal Controls; Saturday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to noon
  • Marketing Your Program; Saturday, Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information on the series, visit the Pennsylvania Key’s website.

News

August Recalls on Children’s Products

Parents and caregivers should be aware of several child-related product recalls.

This Month’s Recalls on Children’s Products

Here is a list of August recalls collected from the following major federal agencies, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar Overseas LLC recalled its Bliss Tree Butter Snacks products because they may contain undeclared milk and/or sesame seeds. The FDA discovered the ingredients during a review. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk or sesame run the risk of serious allergic reactions if they consume these products.

Shawshank LEDz recalled its Squeeze Plush Ball Monster toys and Easter Squeezable toys due to injury hazards. Toys sold at Ace Hardware contain a liquid and glitter combination inside a thick membrane. If the membrane ruptures, glittery water can splash onto a child’s face and body, posing an injury hazard.

Mamibaby and Cosy Nation baby loungers were recalled due to suffocation risk and fall and entrapment hazards. The products violated federal regulations for infant sleep products because the sides are too low to contain the infant. Also, the sleeping pad is too thick, posing a suffocation hazard, and an infant could fall out of an enclosed opening at the foot of the lounger or become entrapped. The loungers do not have a stand, posing a fall hazard if used on elevated surfaces.

RH Baby & Child recalled its Jeune French Contemporary upholstered panel cribs due to choking hazards. The cylindrical metal inserts in the crib’s wooden frame can become loose and detach, posing a choking hazard.

Attom Tech recalled its LED light-up jelly ring toys due to ingestion hazards. The products violate federal regulations for battery-operated toys. The rings contain button cell batteries that fit within CPSC’s small parts cylinder and are easily accessible without a household tool. If swallowed, button cell batteries can cause serious injuries, including chemical burns and death.

Papablic infant swings were recalled due to suffocation hazards. They marketed, intended, and designed the swings for infant sleep. However, their incline angle exceeds 10 degrees, which violates federal safety regulations for infant sleep products and the Safe Sleep for Babies Act. They also violate labeling requirements for Reese’s Law because the remote contains a button or coin-cell battery.

Beberoad Love recalled its New Moon Travel Bassinets due to fall hazards, violating federal regulations for infant sleep products. The bassinets do not have a stand, posing a fall hazard if used on elevated surfaces.

 

Past Months Recalls on Children’s Products