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The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning supports families and their children from prenatal through school age by using data, research and stakeholder guidance to assure high quality services.
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Message from Suzann Morris, Deputy Secretary
OCDEL is celebrating our 10th year serving Pennsylvanians through early learning programs and services. Take a look at some of the
Happy Birthday Messages
shared at the recent ECE Summit, including one from PA Department of Education's Secretary Rivera. Thank you to all early learning professionals, stakeholders, business partners, and community friends for being a part of OCDEL!
OCDEL and our partners want to share a wonderful welcome to
Marnie Aylesworth who has been named Director of the PA Key. Although Marnie is new to this position, she comes with extensive experience in the early learning world.
We look forward to her experience and the leadership she brings to the PA Key. Send her a welcome at
[email protected].
Finally,
please take a moment to visit the
redesigned PA's Promise for Children website.
The website was recently launched and now makes it easier for families to find the information and support regarding their child's development. I encourage you to
visit the website and share it with the families you serve.
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Early Education in Pennsylvania
Inclusion Document to Aid Administrators and Coaches
The document is grounded in recommended practice, research, federal law, state law, and guidance from the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). Links to additional resources are provided throughout the document. Readers are encouraged to use the links and explore the resources to gain information on implementing high quality inclusive practices.
PA Key Announces New Director
 The Pennsylvania Key welcomes Marnie Aylesworth as the new director.
Marnie has worked in the field of early childhood education for over 25 years. She holds a Master's degree in early childhood education and is in the final stages of her dissertation for her Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction (ABD). Her current research is focused on the impact mindfulness can have on early childhood educator's health and well-being as well as on their ability to successfully work and teach in a prekindergarten classroom, specifically in communities where poverty is prevalent. Marnie has been with the PA Key for nearly eight years, working to support early childhood programs like PA Pre-K Counts and Head Start State Supplemental.
Marnie is dedicated to a collective leadership philosophy and is very excited to lead the PA Key in the next chapter of early childhood education in Pennsylvania.
Of her new role, Marnie says, "My priority is to guide the PA Key and its staff in a collective leadership capacity, leveraging and celebrating the skills, gifts and talents of all sixty-seven team members as we support the early childhood workforce and the mission of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning."
Safe Drinking Water Act & Regulations and the Impacts for Early Learning Programs
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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for implementing the Safe Drinking Water Act and associated Safe Drinking Water regulations (25 Pa. Code, Chapter 109). The Safe Drinking Water Act and regulations define a public water system as a system that provides water to the public for human consumption, and which has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average of at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year. Generally, if a building is supplied tap water by a water company or municipal authority without further treating the water, then the building does not meet the definition of a public water system. The entity providing water to the building is the regulated public water system. However, if a building is supplied water from an on-site well or spring or other source of water and the building regularly provides water for human consumption to an average of at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year, the building is regulated as a public water system.
PA's Chapter 109 Safe Drinking Water regulations are based on the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and regulations. These regulations establish national limits on contaminant levels in drinking water to ensure the water is safe for human consumption. The regulations then specify testing frequencies for the contaminants as well as establish requirements for operation and maintenance of the public drinking water system components. Currently, Pennsylvania has approximately 8,500 public water systems. About 2,000 of these systems are community water systems; that is systems that serve residential areas such as cities, towns, sub-developments, and manufactured housing communities. The other 6,500 public water systems are non-residential systems. Facilities such as schools, restaurants, campgrounds, businesses with 25 or more employees, places of worship, and child cares.
Over the next year, certified DHS child care facilities will receive a letter and survey from DEP asking for information about where the facility obtains its tap water. Facilities should complete the survey to the best of their ability and return it to the return address provided by DEP. If DEP needs more information, they will follow up, including potentially a site visit. If a facility meets the definition of a public water system, they will need to work with DEP to comply with the Safe Drinking Water regulations. Failure to return the survey could/may affect the next DHS license renewal. For more information on public water system requirements, please visit the
DEP Bureau of Safe Drinking Water website.
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Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge
Little Actions. Big Impact.
The newly redesigned
PA's Promise for Children website offers visitors ways to identify their child's development, information on what to do if they have concerns about a child's development, and plenty of resources. The section
Watch Them Grow shares information about understanding healthy development, while
Help Them Learn provides information about preparing a child for school. Child care, health care and parenting challenges are the focus of
Care for Them, while
Get a Little Help features expert advice and information about financial assistance.
The website also specifically highlights information about
Pennsylvania's CONNECT Helpline as a resource for information about a child's development and as the connection to Early Intervention services and supports in Pennsylvania.
The website is available in English and Spanish. All photographs used on the website feature Pennsylvania families and children.
This initiative is in part by Pennsylvania's Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge grant. For more information on other initiatives funded by this grant, visit the
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Pennsylvania's PD Registry: Things To Know and Do
Get Started Now for a Smooth Transition
Early learning professionals, your voices have been heard! An improved PD Registry is coming February 2018.
Over the next several months, look for
Things to Know and Do to experience a smooth transition. Get a jump on what you can do now!
- Log in to www.pakeys.org and make sure your profile information is accurate, especially your email address.
- Course Catalog Credits! As of December 31, 2017, all course catalog credits must be used to purchase courses. If you think you are unable to use the credit, please send an email to [email protected] and a refund will be issued.
- If you are enrolled in an online ITERS or ECERS course, you must complete the course by December 31, 2017. Other less common online courses will also need to be completed by this date.
- Complete any course evaluations by December 31, 2017 to ensure proper credit for the course is awarded.
Stay tuned for future
Things to Know and Do in the PA Early Ed News as the transition continues. If you have any questions, reach out to the Registry at
[email protected].
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Of Interest
2018 PA One Book Announced
There's a new
PA One Book Every Young Child book selection.
My Cousin Momo by Zach OHora has been selected for 2018. Fans of the PA One Book Every Young Child campaign may recall a book by author Zach OHora has been selected in the past. In 2012,
Stop Snoring Bernard! was selected as the PA One Book.
Health Insurance Marketplace Enrollment Begins November 1
If you haven't applied for insurance on HealthCare.gov before, find out what you need to know about the Health Insurance Marketplace (sometimes known as the health insurance "exchange"). The 2018 Open Enrollment Period runs from November 1, 2017 to December 15, 2017. This is a shorter enrollment period than previous years, so it's important to act quickly. If you don't act by December 15, you can't get 2018 coverage unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Visit Healthcare.gov to see if you're eligible to use the Marketplace, and dates and deadlines for 2018 health insurance.
New Grant Opportunity to Support Student Learning
LOI deadline December 8
The Coalition for Community Schools Initiative has launched the Students at the Center Challenge, with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Ford Foundation. The initiative will award $150,000 planning grants to up to 10 communities that commit to changing how they align and expand their work to help students, particularly children of color and low-income children. Any community where there is at least one affiliate or member of one of the collaborating partner's networks is eligible to submit a letter of intent (LOI) for consideration in the challenge. View the
full list of organizations in Coalition for Community Schools, Communities In Schools and StriveTogether networks.
Visit the Partner Portal for complete challenge details.
2018 Youth Garden Grant
Application deadline December 8
KidsGardening awards funding and gardening supplies to schools and community organizations with youth-centered garden programs.
Youth Garden Grants are awarded to schools and community organizations with youth-centered garden programs. Any nonprofit, school, or youth program planning a new garden project or expanding an established one that serves at least 15 youth between the ages of 3-18 is eligible to apply.
Loving Support Award of Excellence
Application deadline December 15
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service will accept applications for the recognition program, the Loving Support Award of Excellence, until December 15, 2017. The Loving Support Award of Excellence was developed to recognize and celebrate local WIC agencies that provide exemplary breastfeeding programs and support services. Local WIC agencies that have operated a peer counseling program for at least one year, which meets all of the required core components of the FNS Loving Support© Model for a successful peer counseling program are eligible to apply at the USDA website. The applications, instructions, and frequently asked questions are available to viewed and downloaded.
New CACFP Training Opportunities
USDA's Team Nutrition is hosting a new webinar series, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays. The webinar series will feature a variety of topics related to the updated CACFP meal patterns. Webinars will be held on the third Thursday of each month and are great for state agencies, sponsoring organizations, CACFP providers and program operators, and others who work with CACFP. An English webinar will be held from 2:00-2:30 pm ET and a Spanish webinar will be held from 3:00-3:30 pm ET. Please visit the CACFP Halftime Webinar page for more info. All webinars will be recorded and made available at a later date on the USDA Team Nutrition website.
Save the date: 20th Children's Interagency Conference
Save the date for the 20th Children's Interagency Conference to be held April 30-May 3, 2018 in State College. The 20th Children's Interagency Conference will bring together Pennsylvania's Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) and System of Care (SOC) partners providing behavioral health services to children, youth, and young adults ages 0-26 and their families. For more info, see the flyer.
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Trends and Reports
School District Leaders Say Early Education Needed, But Underfunded
More than three-quarters of American public school superintendents say that early-childhood care and education means "a great deal" to a child's future success-but that they work in states that are investing too little in it. The findings come from a survey of a nationally-representative sample of district leaders conducted by Gallup earlier this year. The majority of superintendents also said that quality care was hard to find-63 percent said they "strongly disagreed" or "disagreed" with the statement that high-quality care was "available to every family in my state." Read the survey results.
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Resources
Ready Wrigley Helps Families Prepare for Emergencies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created Ready Wrigley to provide parents, guardians, teachers, and young children with tips, activities, and a story to help the whole family prepare for emergencies. Together with a child, join Wrigley as she helps her family prepare for emergencies by staying informed, packing emergency kits, and making a family communication plan. The activity book is designed to provide an interactive tool to further a child's education and promote disaster preparedness and safe clean-up in a community. It can be used in schools, communities, and families to help children learn the importance of being prepared. The book, Flooding and Mold, is available in English and Spanish on the CDC website.
Essentials for Parenting Toddlers and Preschoolers
This online resource from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides information to help parents interact positively with children. It provides proven answers to common challenges so moms, dads, and caregivers can help two- to four-year-olds grow up happy and healthy. Read free articles, watch videos, and practice exercises for building positive relationships with kids.
CDC launches new Milestone Tracker app
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pleased to announce the launch of CDC's Milestone Tracker, a free app for tracking every child's development in a fun and easy way. This app adds to the popular suite of free, family-friendly materials available through CDC's
Learn the Signs. Act Early. program.
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The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) provides families access to high quality services to prepare children for school and life success.
Find more information about Quality Early Learning in Pennsylvania
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The Pennsylvania Early Childhood Education News is a project of the Pennsylvania Build Initiative and the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services to inform early learning professionals, the early childhood community, policymakers, community leaders and the public on developments in early childhood education and care in Pennsylvania.
Please feel free to forward this email to friends, family, and colleagues.
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