OCDEL In Action
Governor joins 200 children and families to celebrate 2012 Shining Stars in honor of the Keystone STARS 10th anniversary
Governor Tom Corbett congratulated the 2012 Shining Stars and all young children at the Shining Stars recognition event at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg. Nearly 200 children, families, teachers and early childhood providers attended the event in honor of the 10th anniversary of Keystone STARS.
To open the event, Justin McCord sang the National Anthem. Justin is 14 years old and lives with his family in Pittsburgh. Justin attended the 4 Kids Early Learning Center, a Keystone STAR 4 program, as a preschooler. Justin was nominated by his former administrator, Barbara Willard, because he is an excellent example of a child with wonderful supportive parents who was given the opportunity to begin his educational experience in a quality preschool program.
Dr. Barbara Minzenberg, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning, shared some of Justin’s story. “Through his parents’ guidance and determination and participation in a Keystone STARS program, Justin has developed into a well-educated, articulate young man with an exciting future. He is looking forward to attending college and majoring in music and theater.”
Governor Corbett addressed the children first, saying he “always likes having an audience of children, children who want to learn.” Corbett stressed the importance of a quality education, that children “need to have the education foundation in order to grow” and with a quality early education “will continue to be Shining Stars for the rest of your lives.”
He explained that Pennsylvania is working with people who provide child care to improve quality because the Commonwealth “wants to makes sure kids not only have fun, but learn” in child care and early learning programs. “The whole idea is to make our state better.” He referenced that at the beginning of last year, only one in three preschoolers in Keystone STAR 3 and 4 centers had age-appropriate language, math and social skills. By the end of the year, that ratio was turned around, with two in three preschools having age-appropriate skills.
Governor Corbett asked the audience to give the shining stars in the room and all young children a round of applause. “I believe children are our Shining Stars because they are our future.”
Christa Swoope from Clearfield shared how Keystone STARS has made an impact on her family and her five-year old daughter Haley. Haley is enrolled at the STAR 4 Barbara J. Gillingham Family Child Care program. Barbara nominated Haley because she has done so wonderful with her progress and feels that the Keystone STARS program has helped both to reach all of their goals.
Micah Keller’s mom, Sarah Saylor, shared her family’s story. Micah is five years old and lives with his parents in East Greenville, PA. Micah was born with Spinabifida. He attends Children’s Development Program, Inc., a Keystone STAR 4 program. Micah was nominated by his teacher, Besty Nilsen, because of the way he has overcome physical disabilities and has built wonderful relationships with his peers.
Dr. Barbara Minzenberg, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning, congratulated the families and STARS programs for helping our young children reach their promise.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of Keystone STARS, Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children and Local Education and Resource Network (LEARN) teams are recognizing the achievement of the families, teachers and programs participating in Keystone STARS to helping our young children reach their promise through the 2012 Shining Stars recognition.
The event was made possible with funding from the PA Build initiative, The Grable Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, and the William Penn Foundation.
Families and teachers nominated nearly 200 children who participate or participated in a Keystone STARS program with a STAR 2-4 rating as Shining Stars. A list of nominees and their stories are posted on the Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children website.
Thanks to Keystone STARS, programs that have helped the Shining Stars reach their promise were able to provide education and professional development to their teachers, combine an effective learning curriculum with engaging learning materials to create a solid classroom environment, and receive technical assistance to continue to improve quality.
For more information, visit www.papromiseforchildren.com.
New Director for the Bureau of Early Intervention Services Announced
The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is pleased to announce that beginning on September 1, 2012 James Coyle, Ed.D will be the new Director for the Bureau of Early Intervention Services.
Dr. Coyle is currently the Program Director responsible for Early Childhood and Emotional Support Services at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22. He has an extensive background in early intervention and has for the past 27 years been in a position of coordinating, supervising or directing preschool early intervention. Prior to working in early intervention, he was a special education teacher, serving adolescents with social emotional challenges. He received his Doctorate in Education from Widener University in the area of Pupil Personnel Leadership. He has also been directly involved in policy development in both early intervention and early childhood advisory committees for Office of Child Development and Early Learning such as the State Interagency Coordinating Council and the Early Learning Council.
For more information about the Bureau of Early Learning Services, please visit the OCDEL website.
2012 Keystone STARS Leadership Conference: Celebrating 10 Years of High Quality Early Care & Education, May 22-23, 12
Registration deadline: May 18
Save the dates and plan to join 150 Keystone STARS 2, 3, 4 and 4A programs from across the state for two exciting days of Professional Development and Networking! This year’s conference is being held at the Hershey Lodge.
National speakers Muriel Wong (founder and Executive Director for the National Institute for Innovative Leadership and the author of Web-Based Early Learning System, WELS) and Judy Langford (Associate Director and Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy), state policy makers, Regional Key staffers, and more will begin two days of Professional Development at 10am on Tuesday, May 22 and conclude at 4pm Wednesday, May 23.
Join us as we reflect on our past and prepare for our future at the 5th annual Keystone STARS Leadership Conference. For the purposes of achieving an accurate conference participation count, each and every conference attendee must register separately.
Additionally, in an effort to reduce expenses, providers are now asked to pay for lodging and are strongly encouraged to use their Keystone STARS grants funds. The Hershey Lodge is offering a conference rate of $189/night and extending that offer for 3 days before and 3 days after our gathering. OCDEL requests that ALL guests plan to stay at the Lodge Tuesday, May 22, 2012 and limit conference attendees to one guest per room (family members are welcome to stay with you but may not participate in conference sessions or meals).
Official Conference e-Registration is open thru May 18, 2012. For Hershey Lodge Room Reservations call 1-800-HERSHEY (437-7439). Please tell them you are with the Keystone STARS Conference to get the reduced rate.
All conference attendees must register with a room and use the online conference electronic registration system to sign up for the conference. Additional questions can be directed to Catherine Cormany, OCDEL at ccormany@pa.gov.
OCDEL selected as Doing What Works grantee
The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is one of six states chosen as the recipient of the Doing What Works (DWW) grant in the amount of $55,000. Doing What Works (DWW) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, with the goal to create an online library of resources that may help teachers, schools, districts, states and technical assistance providers implement research-based instructional practice.
This funding will be used to create a 2 day Professional Development Instructors Institute (PDII) in August 2012 for approximately 50 participants including; Literacy focused Pennsylvania Quality Assurance System (PQAS) certified instructors, Keystones to Opportunity trainers, Higher Education Faculty and representatives from both OCDEL and the PA Keys. The focus of the PDII will be preschool language and literacy using the DWW materials and resources around phonological awareness and dialogic and interactive reading.
In addition, the PDII will include Early Learning Standards and The Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) materials. Upon completion of the PDII, instructors will be expected to deliver the training a minimum of two times within a year to the greater early childhood community of Pennsylvania.
For more information please contact Brandi Miller, Early Childhood Advisor for OCDEL at brandimill@pa.gov, or for more information about DWW, please visit the Doing What Works website.
Serving More Children in Keystone STARS – March 2012 Report
In March 2012, more children were served through the Keystone STARS providers than in February, with Keystone STARS providers served an estimated 169,863 children through 4,221 providers. These providers included 3,057 Center providers, 337 Group providers, and 827 Family providers. These figures represent an increase of 2,646 more children and 78 more providers than in February 2012.
During March, the number of providers moving up at least one STAR level increased from February's figure of 87 to March’s 126 providers. Of those who moved up a STAR level, 91 were centers, while 11 were group providers and 24 were family providers. The greatest upward movement was seen from Start with STARS to STAR 1 with 11% (66) moving to STAR 1. Thus far, during this fiscal year, the total number of providers in Keystone STARS moving up a STAR level to date is 590.
For questions or information about the Keystone STARS Program, please email RA-ocdearlylearning@pa.gov or visit the PA Keys website. To find a Keystone STARS provider, please visit the PA Key website, STARS Provider Search.
CDA Renewal Amnesty Program Continues
Deadline December 31
The Council for Professional Recognition's new Child Development Associate (CDA) Renewal Amnesty Program, which began on March 1, allows anyone who has earned a CDA in the last ten years to apply for Renewal, even if their CDA has expired. If your initial or renewal CDA has a credential date of January, 2002 or later, you are eligible for Renewal Amnesty. This program will only last until December 31, 2012 so don't delay... Renew your CDA today!
To check to see if you are eligible, look in the lower left corner of your credential. If the date listed is more recent than January 1, 2002, you are eligible! In order to renew you will also need to meet the following standard renewal requirements:
- 4.5 CEUs or 3 college-credit-hours of training within the last 5 years
- A recommendation from an ECE professional who is familiar with your professional work
- A pediatric first aid certificate
- Membership in an ECE professional membership organization
- A brief letter from a supervisor testifying that you have worked at least 80 hours in the past year
Buy a Renewal Packet now by visiting The Council bookstore website.
15 Minute Virtual Guide to Graphic Design Available on the PA Keys Website
Would you like to learn more about basic graphic design principles to improve your visual communication skills for informing audiences about quality early childhood education? If so, then all you need is fifteen minutes on the PA Keys website to check out the new Virtual Guide: Graphic Design for Effective Communication online session.
Created as part of the Expand the Brand communications leadership cohort series, this virtual graphic design session offers participants a brief overview of how to organize their visual messages according to considerations such as content, audience, layout, images and color.
Please contact Karen Seeber at karsee@berksiu.org or 717-213-3731 for more information.
Celebrate 529 Day by entering to win $529 for college
While the school year may be drawing to a close, Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord wants families to start thinking ahead to future school years. To commemorate "529 Day" on May 29, the McCord Treasury is sponsoring a month-long sweepstakes where 10 lucky families will win a $529 to the PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan account.
529 college savings plans provide important tax advantages and are considered by many financial experts to be one of the best ways to save for college.
The McCord Treasury administers the Pennsylvania 529 College Savings Program, which offers two distinct 529 plans to meet the needs of nearly anyone who wishes to save for college:
- PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP). Growth is based on tuition inflation. For example, if you save enough now for a semester at one of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, universities you will have enough for a semester there in the future - no matter when or how much tuition increases in the meantime. To make it even easier for families to save with the PA 529 GSP, the McCord Treasury is offering free enrollment - a $50 savings. When prompted, use promotional code: Schools Out!
- PA 529 Investment Plan (IP). Returns are based on financial market performance. The PA 529 IP features low fees and more than a dozen conservative and aggressive investment options from Vanguard, one of the nation's largest financial services companies. There is no enrollment fee for the PA 529 IP.
To enter the scholarship sweepstakes, or learn more about either program, visit www.PA529.com or call 1-800-440-4000.
