Pennsylvania preschool programs are invited to join an exciting research opportunity to improve the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition (ECERS-3). The Pennsylvania Key PQA Team is supporting researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill examine the widely used program observation instrument, ECERS-3. The ECERS-3 is a global quality assessment used in classrooms serving children ages 3-5 years and is currently a resource used in the quality improvement systems of thirty states. This study examines how the measure considers the experiences of racially, culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse preschool groups.

Those who would like to participate, or who have questions, should contact Rachel Kaplan, Pennsylvania’s primary contact for this research project, at Rachel.kaplan@unc.edu or 919-259-6235. 

The updated and corrected OCDEL-approved Curriculum and Developmental Assessment Listing can be found here. Programs should refer to ELRC Announcement 22 #07-OCDEL-Approved Developmental Assessment and Curriculum Tools in Keystone STARS-FINAL for more information on expectations for using OCDEL Approved tools in Keystone STARS.

Early childhood education (ECE) professionals interested in attending college for the Fall semester that begins in August should apply to T.E.A.C.H. now! T.E.A.C.H. applications must be complete and submitted with all required documentation/information by Friday, July 7, 2023, to be considered for the Fall 2023 semester. PACCA will continue to accept applications on an ongoing basis, however incomplete applications and applications received after this date will not receive priority for consideration. NOTE: New scholarship awards for the Fall 2023 semester will be dependent upon funding availability at that time. 

Interested applicants should also begin the college admissions process now and contact an ECE advisor at their intended college/university. This helps to ensure that scholarship applicants are admitted to their college/university and can register for courses if/when they receive a T.E.A.C.H. scholarship. T.E.A.C.H. can provide contact information for ECE advisors at partnering institutions if needed.

Need more information? Click here to for details on eligibility, program requirements and to download a scholarship application.  Questions? Click here to contact a T.E.A.C.H. Counselor.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® PENNSYLVANIA is supported by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (PDE). For more information, visit dhs.pa.gov and education.pa.gov. 

The Learning Lamp and the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children have launched a free summer professional development series to help school-age child care providers gain access to needed training.

Workshops will take place monthly through August from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the third Thursdays of the month via Zoom. The series will offer numerous strategies to deliver high-quality summer camp sessions for pre-school and school-aged children. PQAS hours and/or Act 48 credits will be awarded to participants for each completed two-hour session.

The next workshop is scheduled for June 15, followed by July 20 and Aug. 17. For more information, visit thelearninglamp.org/events.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently celebrated the first anniversary of the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Since its launch on Mother’s Day 2022, the hotline’s professional counselors have provided emotional support, resources, and referrals to almost 12,000 pregnant and postpartum individuals who struggled with mental health concerns, and their loved ones. 

Additionally, HRSA introduced an updated toll-free number for the hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). The former number (1-833-9-HELP-4-MOMS or 1-833-943-5746) will continue to work for another year. Learn more about the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Read the release.

In a new report, Examining the Mental Health of Early Childhood Professionals and Children Early in the Pandemic, the Children's Equity Project, highlights the mental health of the early care and education workforce and the children they care for using data collected over the course of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The report focuses on depression and elevated stress, including racialized stress in early educators, and provider reported increases in child externalizing, internalizing, and somatic symptoms. It includes national data, as well as state profiles that highlight trends across state lines.

The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released two new reports on children ages four and eight, whose findings include new patterns in prevalence by race/ethnicity and an analysis showing dramatic impacts of COVID-19 on early evaluation and identification of autism.

A new brief from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation describes how Head Start responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by examining grantees’ challenges, how they addressed these challenges, and the supports they received from the Office of Head Start to provide services to children and families in their care.

Are you interested in using more local foods in your program, but don’t know where to start? Have you heard of Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE)? Farm to ECE offers increased access to healthy foods through local procurement, gardening opportunities, and food and agriculture education activities to enhance the quality of educational experiences. The partners at the National Farm to School Network have great resources to get you going!  

Meaningful family engagement supports an inclusive educational experience. The Center for Parent Information and Resources has a recording of a webinar featuring materials from the OSEP-funded Center on Inclusive Technology and Education Systems (CITES) to support family engagement in inclusive technology practices.

The ED-funded STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMI²E²) Center has developed guides that highlight adaptations and teaching practices early childhood practitioners can use to support the full participation of all children in STEM experiences. The guides are available in English and Spanish.

Colorín on the Go is a free web app from Colorín Colorado and the American Federation of Teachers offering more than 100 strategies for teachers of ELLs, as well as multilingual resources to share with families.

CDC’s new Infant Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) social media toolkit is geared toward states, communities, programs and emergency preparedness and response personnel. The IYCF-E social media toolkit provides content to promote information and resources related to Infant and Young Child Feeding to social media audiences in preparation for or during an emergency. The IYCF-E Social media toolkit contains information on Emergency preparation for families, cleaning infant feeding items during an emergency, Answers to frequently asked questions during emergencies, hand expression, breast milk storage during an emergency, and more.

The May resources from Camille Catlett are now available. The May release of Baby Talk features information on Sparking Healthy Connections, Emotional Literacy with Infants and Toddlers, and more. The May release of Natural Resources has information on Building Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: The Role of the Leader, DEC Recommended Practices Leadership Checklists, and more.