Preparing Pennsylvania’s children for school success

Pennsylvania’s early childhood education approach Serving vulnerable children and families with quality early learning opportunities Research-based early learning standards Promoting teacher quality/ professionalizing the field Uniform data collection Increased collaboration between early childhood and K-12 education Public-private partnerships Building champions

Serving vulnerable children and families More than half of PA’s young children at risk of failing in school Understanding the need. We developed a reach and risk report so we could identify where children are most at risk and where there is a gap in services. We started this report in 2006-2007 and it has really guided where Pennsylvania has allocated new resources, and how advocates and the community talk about the unmet need in the state.

Building a strong foundation: Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Standards Building a stronger foundation – revising and expanding use of Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Standards Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Standards from birth through 2nd grade are the foundation upon which all state-funded early childhood education programs build quality. As Pennsylvania has refined its academic standards for Kindergarten- 12th grade, it also needs to refine its Early Learning standards to align with these new expectations for children at kindergarten entry, with greater attention to cultural, developmental and linguistic appropriateness. These standards are the foundation for all of Pennsyvlania’s early childhood education programs now.

Promoting teacher quality Pennsylvania has some of the most demanding educator requirements in the nation. Still, many of the state’s educators–particularly in rural areas–continue to have challenges with accessing the education and training that would improve outcomes for their students. Pennsylvania continues to align educator requirements and continuing education for professionals from birth through elementary grades and beyond. Some of the ways that Pennsylvania has professionalized the child care field: Created a career lattice for professionals interested in early education either in child care, head start, school districts, or higher education. Created professional credentials that didn’t exist before for school-age providers, child care directors, early intervention technical assistants, etc. Created the Pennsylvania Quality Assurance System (PQAS) that trainers maintains the quality of the trainers. Early childhood staff must take training that has PQAS credits and trainers must be PQAS certified. Built relationships with colleges and universities to offer the coursework child care staff need and can continue to work, also to develop articulation agreements between two and four year colleges so students can transfer credits and earn degrees. Used public and private funding to offer scholarships to child care teachers and directors so they can earn credentials and degrees while continuing to work full-time.

Uniform data collection PA has thought long and hard about the data it collects and how to use it to make the case for early education, improve instruction and engage families. We established uniform data collection through Pennsylvania’s Enterprise to Link Information for Children Across Networks (PELICAN) data system to inform instruction, state policies and increase efficiencies across programs. Our Early Learning Network includes information on children’s progress while they participated in early childhood programs, and can link to their progress in Kindergarten and beyond through the school district longitudinal data system. Here are some examples of the data that we are able to provide.

Increased collaboration Linkages with public schools. Early learning programs are encouraged and supported to partner with their local school districts to better prepare for and create a smoother transition to kindergarten. Opportunities include transition activities that support family involvement, aligning curriculum and kindergarten readiness expectations, joint professional development opportunities for teachers, and shared community events. Linking with our friends who serve children is critically important to building our system. From the health side, to child and welfare, to public education. Here are a few examples: Early Learning Standards aligned with 3rd-12th grade academic standards Early childhood professional development being aligned with Teacher Certification Pennsylvania’s Inspired Leadership program for school leaders now includes early education topics Kindergarten Entry Inventory

Building champions In 2005, the early childhood community decided that it needed to come together and develop a common message, why early childhood education is important, what it looks like, what we are doing right, and what we can do better. Foundations, the administration, early childhood providers and advocates got together to create and use common messaging to build a real constituency for quality early education. This meant that child care, head start, preschools and others had to agree to common values, common messages and work together.

Public-private partnerships Public-Private Partnerships. For years, Pennsylvania has build partnerships with the foundation community to help build a strong early education system and champions for children. A quality early education continuum requires support and participation of both the public and private sectors. Pennsylvania is fortunate to have a strong and supportive foundation community. OCDEL encourages partnerships with the foundation and research communities to develop pilot projects that may be replicated statewide and conduct research to reinforce the benefits of quality early education.   Pennsylvania Build Initiative The Build Initiative is a multi-state partnership that helps states construct a coordinated early learning system that responds to the needs of young children from birth to five and their families, so that children are safe, healthy, eager to learn and ready to succeed in school. It is supported by an Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative made up of 15 leading philanthropies. Pennsylvania is one of five states selected to participate in this national initiative. Pennsylvania has been a Build partner since 2004. Build serves as a catalyst for change and a national resource on early learning and leadership development. As a partner in Build, Pennsylvania receives grant money and technical assistance to support early childhood system building. Since 2007-2008, Pennsylvania Build has supported OCDEL’s work to create a quality early education continuum with work in the areas of coordinated leadership, standards and assessment, professional development, and communications. Standards and Assessment. PA Build supported the Spanish translation and the dissemination of the early learning Standards for Infant-Toddlers, Pre-K, and Kindergarten to child care centers, pre-K programs, early intervention programs, schools and libraries. Professional Development. Professional development supported by PA Build has focused around inclusive practices, racial equity, and family supports as well as support of articulation projects between two and four year higher education institutions. In 2010-11, PA Build supporting the “Coming Together” conference for higher education faculty, professional development instructors and early childhood education professionals, as well as expanding professional development for using the Strengthening Families Framework. Communications. The PA build sponsors research and publications such as the OCDEL annual report and biweekly Build ECE News which is distributed to more than 11,000 subscribers. Research. Pennsylvania foundations have helped fund independent evaluations of our programs to show their value, such as a review of the Early Learning Standards and of Keystone STARS. This gives us the evidence we need to advocate for more resources. Pennsylvania expanded its partnerships with leading Pennsylvania foundations in the 2012-13 program year to address environmental health and digital media literacy. • Early Childhood Education Healthy and Green Initiative. The Heinz Endowments awarded Pennsylvania a grant initiative to offer professional development and mini-grants to select early childhood programs to promote environmentally healthy practices and education. The project is a partnership of The Heinz Endowments, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning and Departments of Health and Environmental Protection. • Supporting digital media literacy in early childhood education. . The Grable Foundation awarded Pennsylvania a two-year grant to promote digital media literacy in early childhood education through raising awareness of new recommendations and promoting system changes, building an understanding of current practice and exemplars in the use of technology and digital media in high-quality early childhood programs across the state, and creating a standards-aligned collection of technology and digital media resources for teachers and child care providers.The project is a partnership between Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Key, the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, and The Fred Rogers Center. Keyston STARS Mentoring Project. The Grable Foundation awarded a two-year grant to Pennsylvania to The project goal is to establish a system where successful home-based child care providers can play an integral role in the development of their peers by guiding them through collaborative learning, role modeling, peer interaction, and peer support. Other public-private partnerships include efforts to promote STEM in early childhood education: Pennsylvania recognizes that some of the most innovative approaches to promote STEM skills building for our youngest system are being developed in the private sector. OCDEL, through a grant with the The Grable Foundation, is in process of developing a procurement process of high quality examples of the use of technology in pre-kindergarten classrooms. Exemplars will be posted in a community of practice for use by all early learning providers. Some examples include: PNC Grow Up Great With Science & Whitaker Center, Harrisburg. OCDEL and the PA Key recruited over 20 early learning programs in the central region to participate in the Whitaker Science Center’s PNC Grow Up Great with Science grant. The Grow Up Great with Science program funded 14 regional science centers (including the Whitaker Science Center) and non-profit education centers in seven states and the District of Columbia to form partnerships with early education centers to enhance early science education. One of the purposes of the grant is to provide professional development for preschool teachers to establish a competency and comfort in teaching science to preschool children. The grant builds on previous funding support through Grow Up Great with Science, PNC’s initiative to help build a stronger foundation in science for regional preschoolers. WQED/ Allegheny Intermediate Unit Super Teachers, Pittsburgh. WQED Super Teachers are educators who advise WQED in the best ways for incorporating PBS digital media in early childhood classrooms and homes (pre-K through K) throughout Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 (AIU 3) representing 42 school districts in Allegheny County. Through this public-private partnership, our Super Teachers have become very well versed in the educational technology resources of WQED while providing valuable guidance and feedback on real-world classroom applications of these resources. Super Teachers and staff provide a useful, child- engaging set of practical courses that feature PBS programs, case studies, standards-aligned and highly effective evidence-based curriculum. Enhancing Literacy Project, Lehigh Valley. Community Services for Children, Inc. in partnership with Education 2020, a regional business coalition in the Lehigh Valley, and Computer Aid/Imagination Station launched an innovative project to enhance literacy among preschoolers living in the Allentown School District catchment area. The “Enhancing Literacy Project” includes a Literacy Laboratory and utilization of the Imagination Station Software program to provide opportunities for a strong foundation for language and literacy development essential for school readiness and success. The state’s Educational Initiative Tax Credit program recognizes CSC’s Literacy Laboratory as an “innovative educational program,” for which business may contribute for tax credits. The goal of this project is to improve language and literacy outcomes of Head Start/Allentown School District children by 50% from start of year (listening, speaking, reading and writing). All of the children are high risk and participate in either Head Start or PA Pre- K Counts. The project is a result of the innovative/creative thinking of successful business leaders with the teaching expertise of our early childhood teachers to create a program that integrates the best of technology and traditional learning activities.