October 2023 Edition

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A new course, Exploring the WIDA Prek-3 Essential Actions, is now available in the PD Registry for free.

This self-paced E-learning course will introduce educators to the WIDA PreK-3 Essential Actions. Educators will have an opportunity to build their knowledge and understanding of the Essential Actions and key concepts embedded in the Essential Actions for supporting dual language learners. They will also reflect on their own ideologies, practices, and settings. This course will invite participants to apply their learning and take action to enhance their current practices utilizing the tools and resources provided.

To register for this course please visit the PD Registry and search the training calendar for Exploring the WIDA Prek-3 Essential Actions. Once registered, you will receive information on how to access the WIDA Secure Portal to complete the course. 

Any questions can be directed to Barry Wiestling at bwiestling@pa.gov. 

Registration is available now on the PaTTAN training calendar for the Inclusive Classroom Practices in Early Childhood Training of Trainers: Working Together to be held October 11, 2023, 1:30 – 3:30 pm or October 12, 2023, 9:30 to 11:30 am. It is limited to 60 participants. This is the first in the series of three Training of Trainers. You only need to register for one, as they are repeat sessions.

This webinar is required prior to taking any others in the series. The series is intended to make content available from the online inclusion course series so that it can be presented during a live training or webinar event with a larger audience. It is appropriate for individuals who have experience in training Early Intervention service personnel/providers and/or early childhood education professionals.  

To receive access to the other training materials (PowerPoint presentations & participant handouts), and a letter of endorsement to use the materials, trainers must complete the following for EACH of the three topics they wish to present. 

1. Participate in the Training of Trainers Webinar  
2. Complete the corresponding on-line course on the EITA Portal or PD Registry. 
3. Send your webinar certificate and your online course certificate for each topic for which you are interested, to Audrey Shuey at ashuey@pattan.net.  

Completion of the online course will provide trainers with a deeper understanding of the materials and experience with the activities. Courses can be taken prior to or after the Training of Trainer webinar for each topic. If you have already completed the courses and received your certificate, you will need to submit a copy. Corresponding online courses are to be completed within six months of the webinar date; access to training materials will not be granted until the courses are completed 

The self-enrollment courses on the EITA portal will provide a certificate of completion, and you can begin those at any time. Act 48 and PQAS credits are not issued for self-enrollment. If you wish to obtain Act 48 credits, you must register on the PaTTAN Training Calendar. For PQAS credit, please access the course from the PD Registry. 

For questions regarding registration, please contact the EITA Help Desk. 

Registration will be available soon on the PaTTAN training calendar for the other webinars in the Training of Trainers Inclusive Classroom Practices in Early Webinar Series. 

These additional webinars are only open to those who have previously participated in the Training of Trainers Webinars for Working Together in October 2023, where participants will receive the registration code to participate in the next topic in the series. 

• Focus on Attitudes and Beliefs: November 17, 2023, 9:30 – 11:30 am, or November 20, 2023, 1:30 – 3:30 pm.
• Building Relationships: December 6, 2023, 1:30 – 3:30 pm, or December 7, 2023, 9:30 – 11:30 am. 

Learn about high-quality resources to support the social emotional development of young children, with an emphasis on trauma informed care. Conference sessions also address self-care.

Audience: Directors and teachers of Pennsylvanian licensed child care centers, group child care, family child care homes, and after school care.

Location: Hershey, Pennsylvania. Additional details on registration and logistics will be provided soon.

Financial support for overnight room accommodations will be available for participants. There is no registration fee for this conference. Additional details coming soon!

Early childhood educators and partners--there's still time to order a free set of the poster series for helping kids who have experienced trauma from Heal PA and Bright Start. Bright Kids. Bright Futures. Each set contains four posters focusing on ages 0-3 and 3-6 years which feature information on:

• What are ACEs?
• Signs and Symptoms of Traumatic Stress
• Children can cope with trauma and build resiliency
• Tips for Educators: Taking care of yourself

Early childhood educators and partners can display the posters where families and staff can view the information. Posters are available at no cost and available in English and Spanish. Supplies are limited. Click here to view/download the posters and click here to order a set of the posters.

• Sept. 12-13: 2023 Refugee Education Summit, King of Prussia
• Sept. 14: Social Justice Summit: Putting CRSE into Practice, Millersville and online
• Sept. 18-21: NHSA Fall Leadership Institute, Crystal City, VA
• Sept. 19-20: ZERO to THREE LEARN Conference, Minneapolis 
• Oct. 4-7: 2023 Early Educators Leadership Conference, Houston
• Oct. 11-13: 2023 Paving the Way to Educational Success Conference, Pittsburgh
• Oct. 16-18: 2023 Early Childhood Education Summit, Virtual
• Oct. 22-24: Family Involvement Conference, Allentown
• Nov. 1-3: PA-AIMH Annual Conference: Applying Theory To Practice, King of Prussia, PA
• Nov. 8-10: 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit, Virtual & Shippensburg
• Nov. 15-18: NAEYC Annual Conference, Nashville, TN
• Nov. 28-Dec. 1: DEC's 38th Annual International Conference on Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families, Minneapolis, MN
• Dec. 4-7: NHSA’s annual Parent and Family Engagement Conference, New Orleans
• Dec. 7-9: 2023 Empower Pennsylvania's OST Conference, Lancaster

2024

• March 25-26: Save the date: OCDEL Early Childhood Conference, Stable and Secure: Supporting Children Through Trauma Sensitive Approaches, Hershey, PA
• April 9-11: 16th National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships, Philadelphia
• April 15-18: National Head Start Conference, Portland, Oregon
• June 24-29: National Research Conference on Early Childhood 2024, Arlington, VA
• Nov. 6-9: Save the date: National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference, Anaheim, CA

Pennsylvania's 2023 Early Childhood Education Summit, From Surviving to Thriving: Tools to Support Early Learning is a week and half away (Oct. 16-18), but there's still time to register!

The ECE Summit will be a fully Virtual Experience again this year, bringing the same great content in a robust and engaging way. Each day will feature a Keynote session and four tracks of workshop sessions. There will be opportunities to connect with peers through live chat, to interact with thought-leaders during Q&A and gain the knowledge needed to enrich professional development in the care and education of young children. PQAS and Act 48 credit will be available.

Sessions will be recorded and paid attendees will be able to view missed sessions or are interested in post Summit and earn PQAS and Act 48 credit. Learn more, including how to register.

The Early Childhood Education Linkage Systems (ECELS) shares that COVID-19 cases are on the rise. This brief video by Dr. Cohen, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, addresses the updated vaccine for all. This video from the CDC about COVID vaccines for children is quick and informative. Families should be encouraged to check with their child's healthcare professional about their child receiving the updated vaccine.

As of September 25, 2023, every U.S. household can again place an order to receive four (4) more rapid tests delivered directly to their home: COVID.gov - Free at-home COVID-19 tests.

If you have remaining COVID-19 tests which have expired, check to see if your COVID-19 tests' expiration dates have been extended.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has information for COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs. It is consistently OCDEL's message to follow the CDC COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs.

The NAEYC standard for Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfection Frequency Table states the use of chlorine bleach for disinfecting and sanitizing is not a requirement. There are other EPA and third party approved sanitizing and disinfecting agents which are safer and effective that can be used instead of chlorine bleach/water solutions.  

The easiest way to find least-toxic cleaning products that can be used in lieu of bleach is to use products that have been tested and certified by a third-party group such as, Green Seal, UL/EcoLogo, and/or EPA Safer Choice. Women for a Healthy Environment has created a website of third-party certified cleaning products.

Do you know an individual or organization that displays outstanding commitment to the out-of-school time field? Nominate them to be an Afterschool Champion!  

Afterschool Champions should demonstrate outstanding work in developing, supporting and promoting meaningful high-quality afterschool and out-of-school time programs to benefit children, youth and families across Pennsylvania.

Award categories for individuals include recognition for outstanding work in afterschool policy and advocacy, sustainability or quality. The Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) is also accepting nominations for youth, organizations and policy members who have consistently gone above and beyond in their efforts in supporting afterschool programming. Nomination deadline is Oct. 13, 2023.

The Klorane Botanical Foundation, Klorane, and KidsGardening are partnering again to offer the 2024 Budding Botanist Grant. In 2024, twenty schools will be awarded $500 each.

Public, private, or charter schools that are planning a new or expanding an existing school garden program designed to teach students about environmental sustainability and the importance of biodiversity are eligible. Applications are due by Oct. 20, 2023.

The Federal Reserve Bank wants to hear from you! How would you rate the financial condition of your business? Did your business seek financing such as loans or lines of credit in the last 12 months? Within the past 12 months, did your business sustain losses from a natural disaster?



The Federal Reserve’s 2023 Small Business Credit Survey is open for responses. By taking the optional survey, you contribute to data that directly inform the Fed, federal government agencies, service providers, policymakers, and others — ultimately benefiting your business and other businesses like yours.

The results from last year’s survey helped the Philadelphia Fed develop four briefs offering a snapshot of small business conditions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA, and the Third District states overall. Read the briefs to learn what firms in this region said about their overall condition and top challenges.

The survey is open to businesses that are currently in operation, those that recently closed, and those that are about to launch. All responses are confidential. Take the 12-minute survey now.

The survey closes Nov. 17, 2023. Questions? Contact Olivia Ness at olivia.ness@phil.frb.org.

A new economic analysis has linked, for the first time, conduct problems among kindergarten students with significant costs to society in terms of crime and associated medical expenses and lost productivity when they are adults.

Researchers reviewed teacher- and parent-reported data on conduct problems among more than 1,300 kindergarten students from two multi-site, longitudinal studies conducted in U.S. schools in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They used government and administrative data to determine the costs associated with crimes committed by the students through age 28. The team reported their results in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

The researchers found that increased behavioral problems -- such as oppositional or antisocial behavior -- in kindergarten students were linked to more than $144,000 in costs, on average, per student related to crime and associated medical expenses and lost productivity as these children reached adolescence and adulthood.

In a new report from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Child Trends researchers use data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education to compare the 2012 and 2019 demographic and professional characteristics of the center-based child care and early education workforce. Their analysis revealed that the demographic characteristics of the center-based child care and early education workforce in 2019 were similar to those in 2012, but that the workforce’s professional characteristics (e.g., levels of education, career motivations) have changed. These findings highlight areas for continued growth of equitable opportunities and can act as baselines for setting targets to equitably improve workforce qualifications.  

Enrollment in high-quality preschool education improves childhood outcomes such as emergent literacy acquisition, which has implications for long-term school success. Among the many characteristics of a high-quality preschool classroom, one important aspect is the physical literacy environment, which is commonly defined by the reading and writing resources available in the classroom and how they are arranged, according to a recent study, Preschool Classroom Age Composition and Physical Literacy Environment: Influence on Children’s Emergent Literacy Outcomes. The lack of writing displayed around the room served as one potential reason why 4-year-olds demonstrate smaller gains in expressive language skills in these classrooms. These findings highlight the need for investing in the classroom physical literacy environment to ensure it meets the needs of all children in mixed-age classrooms.

The October releases of family-friendly newsletters for families and providers of children, ages birth to Kindergarten are now available. The newsletters feature fun early learning activities that align with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards, resources and information to help families as their child's first and most important teacher.

Take a look and share with families and friends, then subscribe to get the next release directly into your inbox.

• Learning is Everywhere
• Kindergarten Here I Come
• Kindergarten Here I Am

Farm to school includes serving local food to kids in school settings, educational experiences about food and agriculture - including farm tours and taste tests - and school garden activities. If your community already engages in these activities, October is a perfect time to promote and celebrate! Find additional ideas and resources for your Farm to School Month plans.

The Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems (ECDHS): Evidence to Impact Center supports states and communities to build equitable and family-centered early childhood systems that work to secure the health and well-being of young children and their families. Check out the resources, events, stories, and news for information and tools to help with your early childhood systems work.

Inactivity and unhealthy eating are significant concerns for our nation’s youth, healthcare system, and economy. From the National Afterschool Association, discover how the Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) Standards for out-of-school time can help afterschool programs promote healthier routines for children and youth.

Join the Learning Lamp for another round of FREE after school and school holiday lessons that will make planning for an out of school program a breeze! Designed by teachers for teachers, these easy-to-use, standards-aligned plans offer a turnkey solution for school-age programs for after school hours and days when children are off from school. Whether it’s a teacher in-service, holiday break, or surprise snow day, the plans will help fill the day with fun, easy activities.

The after school plans are presented in a weekly format and include five days of activities. Ten Kids’ Day Out full-day plans are also available. They are built around high-interest themes and include a daily schedule and lots of hands-on activities using many items you already have in a supply closet.

These lesson plans are written and tested by The Learning Lamp, a leading provider of out-of-school time learning Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains region. These plans are FREE through February 2024. Here are some examples of lessons available:

• Barnyard Bash
• Silly Science
• Ocean Odyssey

Sign up today to get access to these easy-to-use plans for an out of school program!

For food safety information and best practices, including information specifically for produce, check out USDA’s five new fact sheets! These resources are designed for USDA’s partners and stakeholders, including child nutrition program operators and agricultural producers. They’re filled with useful information and provide an overview of several topics related to food safety.

The purpose of stay safe procedures is to prepare teachers and program staff to stay calm, take control, and be supportive of children and adults during a crisis, versus not knowing what to do and feeling overwhelmed and helpless. It is helpful and necessary for early childhood programs to be familiar with and practice their stay safe procedures. Practice helps adults prepare, and practicing drills on staying safe can empower staff and save lives.

This resource from the Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center outlines key components to include in stay safe procedures and highlights considerations for the developmental and social and emotional needs of younger children.

As children, families, and providers transition to a new learning year, new resources are available to support children’s social-emotional development. The ED-funded National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations has training modules, as well as new and updated information in its resource library. Check out these books to promote social-emotional development.

The September resource from Camille Catlett is now available. The September edition of Baby Talk features information on Addressing Ethics in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Screen Time Linked with Developmental Delays in Toddlerhood, and more.