January 27, 2020 Take Action to Support Infants and Toddlers in Pennsylvania Are you interested in advocating to increase access to and the affordability of child care for infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania? Take action by completing Start Strong PA’s current advocacy ask! About In December 2019, a campaign for high-quality child care in Pennsylvania called Start Strong PA delivered a New Year’s resolution photo frame to every member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The frames included a spot for a photo, a place for their signature, and the following resolution: In 2020, I resolve that all children deserve to start strong. I will support the healthy development of all Pennsylvania’s infants and toddlers by fighting for greater access to high-quality child care. Now, Start Strong PA is encouraging the General Assembly to take a picture with the signed photo frame and share it across their social media platforms. However, Start Strong PA needs your help! Throughout January, the campaign is asking Pennsylvania families and caregivers to send in photos of their infants and toddlers to place inside the frames. Will you reinforce Start Strong PA’s mission to increase access to and the affordability of high-quality infant/toddler early learning programs? How You Can Help To send in a photo, complete the following steps: Find your Senator or Representative by visiting: http://bit.ly/StartStrongPAresolution. Type in your address and press search. You will be given links to your Pennsylvania House and Senate members. Click on the link (their name) and you will be sent to their website. On the left-hand side, you can find their Harrisburg office address. Place the 4 x 6 photo(s) and a message that says “Make me your New Year’s resolution!” in an envelope, add postage, and mail to their Harrisburg office. Looking to go a step further? Send your Senator and Representative a reminder as well by completing a pre-filled form on our Take Action page! More Information For questions or to send your picture to Start Strong PA, email info@startstrongpa.org.
January 8, 2020 Career Pathway Overview for Directors Child Care Directors and Administrators are invited to join The Pennsylvania Key on January 23 for their webinar exploring Pennsylvania’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) Career Pathway. About This webinar seeks to provide a full overview of the Career Pathway. Presenters will detail different levels of the career pathway, professional development alignment within the career pathway, resources to share with teachers planning to move up in the career pathway, and examples of programs focused on career pathways advancement. More information on Pennsylvania’s Quality Initiatives for the Early Childhood Education workforce will also be provided. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. More Information For questions, all 1-800-284-6031 or email registry@pakeys.org. To learn more about Pennsylvania’s ECE Career Pathway, visit the Pennsylvania Key website.
Changes to Clearances for Employees Having Contact with Children In July 2019, Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order to strengthen protections for vulnerable populations, including children who receive child care services outside of their homes. About the Change The federal Family First Prevention Services Act requires all adults who work in child care settings that receive Title IV-E funding to obtain child abuse clearances, even if they are not working directly with children. Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services law formerly allowed a 90-day provisional hire period for individuals who had applied for but were still waiting for clearance results. However, in 2019, Act 47 eliminated this 90-day provisional hire period to ensure that all adults working with children are legally able to do so. Based on Act 47, child care centers, group child care homes, and family child care homes can request a waiver to hire an employee on a provisional basis for no longer than 45 days. The Department of Human Services is required to process Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearances within 14 days from the day in which the request is received and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history background checks within 30 days from the date of receipt. Generally, these clearances are processed more quickly than required. New employees are not permitted to work alone with children and must be in the immediate vicinity of a permanent employee until all clearances are received. To access the waiver and instructions, visit the Keep Kids Safe website. More Information For more information on obtaining clearances, visit the Keep Kids Safe website. *Information provided by PA Early Ed News
December 18, 2019 Online Resource: Supporting Children with Hearing Loss To support families and professionals who interact with children with hearing loss, Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) developed an online resource titled, “Getting Started: Supporting Children with Hearing Loss.” About In the first section of their free course, EITA says that “families who have just received word that their child is deaf or hard of hearing can display a wide range of reactions,” with most wondering what caused the hearing loss in the first place. To increase family and professional knowledge and awareness about hearing, hearing loss, and available supports in Pennsylvania, EITA created the “Getting Started: Supporting Children with Hearing Loss” course. In it, EITA highlights important information and resources, including first steps, communication and language resources, best practices, and more. Click here to view the resource. More Information For more information and to access the resource, visit the EITA website.
December 17, 2019 PHAN Transportation and Health Survey Are you interested in sharing your voice to support your community? Participate in the Pennsylvania Health Action Network’s (PHAN) new survey on transportation and health! Survey responses will be confidential and should take roughly four minutes to complete. The survey will include questions about transportation for going to the doctor, dentist, a clinic, getting a test or lab done, or other kinds of health visits, such as mental health or substance use disorder treatment. Take the Survey The survey is available in both English and Spanish and can be completed using the following links: English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/97VYCYH Spanish: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9GTTMDB More Information If you have any questions, please reach out to Jessy Foster at jessica@pahealthaccess.org.
December 10, 2019 Early Language and Literacy Chat Join the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) this winter to discuss hot topics around early language and literacy development. From January through March 2020, 3o-minute chat sessions will be hosted on the second and fourth Friday at 8:30 a.m and repeated at 1:30 p.m. Participants will gain access to resources to share with families and use in their classrooms and centers. PQAS credit hours and infant/toddler hours available. Available Dates January 10, 2020: Those First Words January 24, 2020: Conversations with Kids February 7, 2020: Books, Books, Books! February 21, 2020: Print is Everywhere March 6, 2020: Sounds All Around! March 20, 2020: Celebrating Dual Language Learners More Information For more information, visit the event Padlet page.
PDE Releases New Family Engagement Framework The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has released the Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Framework. About The PDE Family Engagement Framework As a collaborative initiative between PDE’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, and Community Ready Framework is a tool to guide learning communities in the implementation of effective practices, use of shared language, and application of a family engagement continuum for families across their child’s educational lifespan. With this, the framework includes Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)-aligned Family Engagement resources and information for local education agencies (LEAs). Beginning with early learning programs through K-12, effective family engagement is critical to supporting a child’s learning and development. In fact, research has demonstrated that regardless of socioeconomic background, when schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children perform better academically, enjoy school more, remain in school longer, and have better long-term outcomes such as higher graduation rates, improved post-secondary educational attainment, and increased career readiness. By establishing this framework, PDE seeks to foster a clear path by identifying a set of common standards of how learning communities can plan and implement family engagement practices. Members of Pennsylvania’s learning communities can employ this framework, with communities including programs and schools to which PDE provides funding, guidance, and monitoring. More Information For more information on the framework, visit the PDE’s website. *Information provided by the Pennsylvania Key
December 6, 2019 $20M in PAsmart Grants Available to Advance STEM and CS Education On November 25, 2019, Governor Tom Wolf announced that “up to $20 million in PAsmart grants are available to prepare students for the fast-growing fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and computer science (CS).” About Governor Tom Wolf has secured $40 million dollars to reinforce his PAsmart initiative, an increase of $10 million from 2018 investments. With this, “the Department of Education will award $20 million for STEM and computer science education through PAsmart Targeted pre-k–12 grants and Advancing grants. The Department of Labor and Industry will soon announce applications for $10 million for apprenticeships and industry partnerships. Funding for career and technical education also increased by $10 million.” Discussing this initiative, Governor Wolf said that “PAsmart is strategically investing in science and technology education so students get the skills they need for emerging jobs in high demand. The grants encourage businesses and schools to develop partnerships that focus education on the knowledge students will need to succeed in growing industries. Through PAsmart, we are developing the most prepared and talented workforce in the country, which will help students excel, grow the middle class, and strengthen the economy for everyone.” Grant Details PAsmart Targeted Pre-k–12 Grants The initiative will be issuing PAsmart Targeted pre-k–12 grants of up to $35,000 each with the intention to “meet the needs of local education agencies and their schools that have limited to no computer science offerings and did not receive targeted grants in 2018-19.” By receiving these grants, schools have the opportunity to “introduce and expand computer science programming and to provide educators from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 with training and professional development to teach CS.” With this, the grants will provide “greater opportunities for students of color, low-income students, and girls to learn critical skills needed to succeed in today’s workforce.” PAsmart Advancing Grants A larger PAsmart Advancing grant of up to $500,000 each will also be available, with the intention to “support cross-sector partnerships that provide quality STEM and CS experiences to learners of all ages – early childhood, pre-k–12, post-secondary, and adult learners – as part of high-level strategic approaches to workforce readiness.” Application Deadlines PAsmart Targeted Pre-k–12 Grant: Friday, December 20, 2019 PAsmart Advancing Grant: Friday, January 10, 2020 Grant applications and additional information can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) website. More Information For more information, read the full press release. *Information provided by the Office of Governor Tom Wolf
November 13, 2019 Investments in Early Childhood Support Workforce Readiness On November 12, 2019, Governor Tom Wolf joined Pennsylvania’s Adjutant General Major General Anthony Carrelli and retired generals and admirals from Mission: Readiness to release the nonprofit organization’s workforce readiness report. The report outlines how competition for qualified individuals among all employment sectors affects military recruiting efforts and warrants greater investment in our next generation. About In their report, Mission: Readiness identifies research-based solutions to improve the health and education of young adults with the goal of making them more likely to successfully contribute to America’s workforce, including military service if they so choose. With this, they document wins for Pennsylvanians that Mission: Readiness supported in the areas of early childhood education; equitable and adequate K-12 education funding; and youth fitness and nutrition. Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Ralph Jodice spoke out on the importance of early childhood, stating, “Research is clear that brain development from birth to age five sets the foundation for children’s future success. High-quality child care and early education programs like pre-k set the stage for readiness by improving children’s cognitive ability, health, and behavior throughout life. Governor Wolf spoke on his support of early childhood investments, stating that he is “committed to making investments in education at all ages to help ensure we provide Pennsylvanians with the skills needed for every open job,” including open positions with Pennsylvania National Guard and all branches of the military. Building on this statement, Governor Wolf said that “we owe it to the men and women currently serving in the Pennsylvania National Guard and all branches of the military to give them the best possible future troops. That means ensuring we’re providing the best education possible to potential enlistees, starting at the earliest ages, when children learn quickly and eagerly.” What You Can Do Every child deserves an equal opportunity to a quality educational foundation that will prepare them to grow, learn, and succeed. That’s why Trying Together participates in multiple advocacy campaigns, including Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA. Will you join us? Join Pre-K for PA and advocate for high-quality pre-k access for every 3- and 4-year old in Pennsylvania. Join Start Strong PA and advocate for all young children in Pennsylvania to have access to high-quality child care programs that their families can afford. Visit our Take Action page to learn more! More Information For access to the video and full press release, visit the PAcast website.
October 17, 2019 SharedSource Pennsylvania Launches Revamped Website In October 2019, SharedSource Pennsylvania launched its revamped website, featuring a new layout and at least 74 new resources! About SharedSource Pennsylvania is “a partnership of Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC), Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC), Trying Together, and Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC). The alliance promotes shared learning, efficient use of resources and quality improvement in ECE programs across the Commonwealth.” New Resources During the launch, SharedSource Pennsylvania highlighted a list of some of its newest resources. With 30 available in Spanish, the resources cover topics including: admin tools; family handbooks; budget planning and preparation; understanding, building, and using business credit; budget tools, marketing your program, family tours, and phone best practices. Visit the website to see the full list. More Information To learn more about SharedSource Pennsylvania, visit their website.
