News

July 1, 2026

OCDEL Announces Requirements for Programs Using Keystone STARS – Alternate Pathways

Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning’s (OCDEL) Bureau of Policy and Professional Development has released an announcement regarding requirements for programs using an OCDEL-approved Alternate Pathways in Keystone STARS.

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The announcement includes guidance on:

Changes to the requirements for OCDEL-approved Keystone STARS – Alternate Pathways programs
Addition of Cognia as an OCDEL-approved Keystone STARS – Alternate Pathway
Initial steps for programs using an OCDEL-approved Keystone STARS – Alternate Pathway
Designation requirements for OCDEL-approved Keystone STAR Alternate Pathway programs
Reminders for OCDEL-approved Keystone STARS-Alternate Pathway programs
Next steps

Keystone STARS, the state’s quality rating and improvement system, promotes quality in early childhood education programs for children and families. OCDEL recognizes that there are state and national accrediting organizations that similarly serve to ensure early childhood education programs provide high quality and enriching programming to children and families.

To give credence to these organizations and their accreditation standards of quality, OCDEL offers several approved Keystone STARS – Alternate Pathways. Programs that are accredited through an OCDEL-approved Alternate Pathway and wish to use the pathway for a Keystone STARS designation must apply for an initial Alternate Pathway designation in the Professional Development (PD) Registry system.

Additionally, these programs are required to complete annual renewals of their Alternate Pathway designation in the registry system. Failure to do so will result in the program dropping to a STAR 1.

The full announcement is available on The Pennsylvania Key.

News

June 30, 2026

Keystone STARS Performance Standards Available in Spanish

The Keystone STARS Performance Standards are now available in Spanish.

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The performance standards operate on the principle that quality learning programs are the foundation for children’s success and that investment in the early care and education of children is an investment in the future.

The standards are organized into four STAR levels that build on each other to support continuous quality improvement. When a program meets performance standards for a specific STAR level, it receives a STAR designation.

A Keystone STARS designation indicates that children are in a safe, quality, respectful environment.

For more information and to view the Spanish version of the Keystone STARS Performance Standards, visit The Pennsylvania Key’s website.

News

May 13, 2026

Pennsylvania Key’s May Health Trend is Preventing Children from Lead Exposure

Lead is highly toxic to neural development in infants and young child – and exposure to lead in older housing, water infrastructure, and air pollution especially affects families in low-income communities.

The Pennsylvania Key’s health trend of the month for May focuses on preventing lead poisoning in young children.

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Lead exposure can cause permanent damage to the developing brains of fetuses and children, the Pennsylvania Key notes, as well as a variety of life-long impacts to health.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the World Health Organization agree that there is no safe level of lead exposure.

Lead exposure can cause permanent damage to fetuses and young children, including:

Low birth weight and related complications
Slowed growth and development
A loss of IQ points
Learning and behavior problems
Hearing and speech problems
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
In adults, it can affect the kidneys and reproductive systems, cause heart disease, and lead to fatal heart attacks.

Lead-based paint hazards are frequently found in homes built before 1978. Children can ingest lead dust by putting objects such as toys and dirt in their mouths and can be poisoned when they swallow or breathe in lead dust. Windowsills and wells can also contain high levels of lead dust, so they should be kept free of dust.

Some toys and jewelry imported from other countries might contain lead, while some imported ceramics and glazed dishes made in the United States prior to the 1990s might also contain lead.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert about ground cinnamon sold in 2024 by a number of brands at six different retail chains. Samples of the products were tested by the FDA and were found to contain elevated levels of lead.

Water can absorb lead from pipes, fixtures, and solder located in the plumbing. Public water is regulated to ensure that it is lead-free – however, tens of millions of people nationwide drink tap water served by lead pipes.

Pennsylvania ranks fifth nationally for housing built before 1950, when lead-based paint was common.

For more information, visit The Pennsylvania Key’s website.

Lead Testing

The Shapiro Administration is launching a free water sampling program for eligible schools and child care facilities to test for lead in drinking water.

In partnership with Terraphase Engineering, the program offers free water testing and, for those with elevated lead levels, grants to support lead-reduction activities, such as installing hydration stations. Eligible applicants could receive up to $3,000 per hydration station.

Schools and child care centers that meet the criteria are encouraged to apply. More details about the grant is available on the Pennsylvania Key’s website.

News

May 4, 2026

PA Key Health Trend Involves Prioritizing Well-Child Visits

The Pennsylvania Key is focusing on well-child visits – a routine, preventative check-up with a pediatrician or doctor to monitor a child’s physical, emotional, or social development – as a health trend.

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According to The Pennsylvania Key, well-child visits and vaccination rates are on the decline and the trend is worsening. A key driver of the trend is declining trust in government health agencies, medical institutions, and government officials.

Despite well-child visits being associated with fewer hospitalizations and emergency department use, children miss between 30% and 50% of well-child visits.

Many families struggle to access and utilize well-child preventative services in the community for the following reasons:

Busy schedules, lack of transportation, or long wait times for appointments make it harder for working caregivers to prioritize well-child checkups.
Uninsured families may prioritize immediate needs such as food and housing.
Families who don’t immunize their children are also less likely to seek well-child care.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children receive 12 well-child visits during the first three years of life. The visits are considered during early childhood as an opportunity to identify and intervene on developmental risk or delay, maternal depression, and household social needs, including stable and safe housing.

The visits are important for all children, including children and youth with special health care needs who may also be under the care of specialists.

For more information on April’s health trend – well-child visits – visit The Pennsylvania Key’s website.

News

February 24, 2026

Pennsylvania Key’s February Health Trend Focuses on Dental Care for Children

Children miss about 34 million school hours annually due to dental problems and unplanned dental care, according to The Pennsylvania Key, which focused on dental health for its February health trends report.

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According to The Pennsylvania Key’s health trends report, tooth decay is more common than asthma, and about 50% of children between the ages of 2 and 19 have had cavities.

Children from low-income families have more untreated cavities due to:

Lack of resources to pay for care
Lack of transportation to a clinic
Inability to get time off from work
Physical disability or other illness

As a result, children with tooth decay suffer from difficulty eating, poor nutrition, delayed physical development, and poor self image and socialization.

Although largely preventable, if untreated tooth decay can lead to pain, inflammation, and the spread of infection to bone and soft tissue. Untreated cavities can cause brain abscesses, which require hospitalization.

According to The Pennsylvania Key’s report, pregnant women and children experiencing homelessness are most vulnerable to poor oral health. Children experiencing homelessness are more likely to live with chronic diseases, behavioral health concerns, developmental delays, hunger, and malnutrition.

Some tips for caregivers to take for young children’s dental health include:

Do not put a baby to bed with a bottle at night or at naptime, and do not let a baby use a bottle field with a sweet drink.
Limit frequent snacking and sugary beverages for children.
Encourage supervised brushing with fluoride toothpaste – and make sure they brush thoroughly twice per day for two minutes.

For more information, read The Pennsylvania Key’s Dental Health Matters: Health Trends in Early Childhood Education.

News

December 16, 2025

Pennsylvania Key Adds Program Quality Blog to Its Website

The Pennsylvania Key recently added the Let’s Talk Quality: Program Quality Assessment in Pennsylvania blog to its website.

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The blog focuses on best practices in early childhood and school-age programming across Pennsylvania.

Categories on the blog include news and updates, environment rating scales, and other topics relating to early childhood education.

Recent articles include “Teaching Kindness to Preschool Children” and “Making Fitness a Priority for Higher Quality Early Childhood Environments.”

Incorporating the blog onto The Pennsylvania Key website gives it a new design, improved user experience, a single destination for all content and community updates, and easier access to related resources and tools.

To learn more, visit the Let’s Talk Quality blog on The Pennsylvania Key.

News

December 9, 2025

ECE Professionals Can Share Feedback or Join Focus Group for PA ECE Career Pathway Redesign

The Pennsylvania Key is redesigning the PA ECE Career Pathway and is calling early childhood educators to join a focus group or share feedback on the project.

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Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has been chosen as one of three states to participate in the National ECE Workforce Center’s Action Research Partnership.

The initiative, which is expected to last for a year to 18 months, kicked off in September.

The goal is to create a more comprehensive, flexible, and supportive ECE Career Pathway system that recognizes the value and complexity of the profession.

The four phases of the Action Research Partnerships include:

An introduction to the learning and action approach that focuses on building relationships, establishing learning norms, and developing a shared understanding of policy or practice goals
System assessment and goals identification in which participants assess what can help drive system change and set measurable goals
Teams collaborating on change activities guided by National ECE Workforce Center staff; this will involve identifying successful strategies, addressing challenges, and refining actions
Wrapping up and sharing learnings during which teams gather to reflect on progress, aims, and sustainability

Those interested in taking part in a focus group or providing feedback for the Action Research Partnership should fill out the Career Pathway feedback form.

News

December 8, 2025

OCDEL Creates Internal Evaluation Process for ECE Professionals with Foreign Degrees

Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and The Pennsylvania Key have developed an initiative to support early childhood education professionals who obtained education outside of the United States by creating an internal process for foreign degree evaluations.

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The new resource will help to reduce administrative and financial burdens to early childhood education professionals and limit out-of-pocket expenses.

As of December 1, foreign degree evaluations for individuals applying for placement on OCDEL’s career pathway will occur seamlessly through services provided by education credential evaluators.

As part of the initiative, each applicant will receive support during the evaluation process with evaluators and have their documents linked in their Pennsylvania PD Registry account. This will allow applicants and other support teams to obtain evaluated educational documents as needed.

The service is available at no cost for the duration of the current fiscal year. After this fiscal year, the service will be available at a substantial discount. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences with OCDEL to help inform future implementation and improvements.

For applicants seeking reimbursement for previously evaluated documents, the foreign degree voucher program will continue reimbursements through December 31, after which all ECE Career Pathway applicants will be encouraged to seek evaluations through the new process.

More information can be found on the Pennsylvania Key’s internal education evaluation webpage.

News

November 18, 2025

PA Head Start Report Finds Children Experiencing Homelessness on the Rise

The Pennsylvania Head Start Collaboration Office has released a new report that found a 4% increase in homelessness for children from birth through kindergarten over a period of a year.

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According to the report, nearly 11,000 Pennsylvania children – from birth to kindergarten age – were identified to be experiencing homelessness during the 2023-24 school year. This represents a 4% increase over one year and a 13% increase over five years.

The largest increase in the report was for pre-school-aged children, with a 3% increase in children identified over one year, and a 32% increase over five years.

Although infants and toddlers accounted for 34% of the 10,601 children identified in 2023-24, this represented a negligible difference over the past year but a 6% decrease over five years.

However, in a section of the report titled “The Good News,” it mentioned that the number of children identified as experiencing homelessness increased in part because the education system has become more effective in identifying children experiencing homelessness since 2016 due to improved coordination with multiple human service systems at the county level and an infusion of resources from the American Rescue Plan that were not available prior to 2021.

Additionally, statewide collaboration expanded through the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning’s (OCDEL) McKinney-Vento Advisory Group, which likely contributed to the 32% increase in the identification of pre-schoolers and a 15% increase in their enrollment in prekindergarten programs over this five-year period.w

The report is the first installment in a series designed to inform state and local practitioners and policymakers about young children identified as experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania.

The entire report is available on The Pennsylvania Key’s website.

News

OCDEL Announces Scholarships for Infant Mental Health Professional Development Course

Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) will again offer the opportunity for early childhood education professionals in the state to participate in the University of Pittsburgh’s Infant Mental Health professional development certificate for free.

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OCDEL will enable licensed child care providers, Head Start/Early Head Start and PA Pre-K Counts programs to take part in the certificate with no-cost scholarships to professionals serving children and families in prenatal, infant, toddler, and preschool programs.

Traditionally, the certificate has been provided to infant/toddler early intervention, OCDEL-funded home visitors, Infant Early Childhood Mental Health, and Rapid Response team members. The extension of the course to providers is a result of ongoing discussions and evaluation of requests for professional development from the field.

In an announcement, OCDEL said it recognized the challenges faced by state providers in supporting the mental health and well-being of children and families in their early years. The organization believes that the early childhood system is most effective when collaborative work is relationship-based, culturally sensitive, grounded in an understanding of developmental theory, research, and supported by reflective practice.

The extension of the course to providers aims to continue building the capacity of early learning professionals to partner with others and better support families in Pennsylvania.

Those interested in taking the course should apply for sponsorship through The Pennsylvania Key. The application for the 2026 Infant Mental Health (IMH) Certificate and Learning Circle Scholarship will be open through Tuesday, November 25.

Criteria and Other Considerations

Criteria for applicants includes:

Demonstrate, at minimum, one year of experience working with young children and their families.
Have the ability to complete the IMH Foundations course within the timeframe of January through December 2026.
Participate in virtual Learning Circles; applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the Introduction to IMH Course Webinar on January 21 and attend a minimum of two additional Learning Circles, which occur monthly for 1.5 hours at two different times with a cohort of fellow professionals to discuss course content.

During the candidate approval and evaluation process, these other considerations will be taken into account:

Provider type and area of service
Number of children served by the provider
Number of children with IFSPs and IEPs served by the provider
Number of children who are dual-language learners served by the provider
The applicant’s experience, education, and role
The applicant’s ability to provide services in a culturally and linguistically responsive manner
Supervisor approval and support for completion of the course

For more information, visit The Pennsylvania Key’s website.