OCDEL: Planning for the Future

1. OCDEL: Planning for the Future Barbara G. Minzenberg, Ph.D.

2. Time to start a new chapter... • New administration, new leadership, new priorities • New state legislative landscape • New opportunities at federal level Before we can look at “what can be” We need to take a look at “what is” .....

3. Taking a look at “what is” • Pennsylvania’s approach • OCDEL snapshot • How we rank • Strategic planning exercise: Truths, Trends and Tremendous Ideas

4. Pennsylvania’s approach • Building a coordinated quality early education system • Supporting continuous quality improvement for programs and professionals • Providing more vulnerable children with quality early learning opportunities • Engaging families in their children’s early learning • Increasing program integrity • Closing the readiness gap before it begins and sustaining student achievement through school

5. OCDEL’s mission The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) promotes opportunities for all Pennsylvania children and families by building systems and providing supports that help ensure access to high quality child and family services. The office is a joint initiative between the Departments of Education and Public Welfare.

6. OCDEL Programs • Child Care Certification • Child Care Works • Children’s Trust Fund • Early Head Start (grantee) • Early Intervention, birth- five • Full-Day Kindergarten • Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program • Keystone Babies • Keystone STARS/ PA Early Learning Keys to Quality • Parent-Child Home Program • Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts • Nurse-Family Partnership • Public-private partnerships

8. 1. Building a coordinated quality early education system • Creation of OCDEL • Pennsylvania Learning Standards for Early Childhood - Infant-Toddler, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, First and Second Grade used by all OCDEL programs to guide curriculum, child observation and assessment. • OCDEL program standards are designed to reflect evidence-based best practices for teacher and program quality. • Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts meets or exceeds nearly every quality benchmark identified by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). • PA is one of 23 states to include all core components for a quality rating and improvement system for early childhood programs through Keystone STARS.

9. Building a coordinated quality early education system • Promoting a strong early childhood workforce through the Early Childhood Career Lattice, PQAS system, and three professional credentials. • Establishing authentic assessment practices of children’s progress and reporting in the Early Learning Network. • Number of teachers with CDAs increased 94% since 2006. • Assessments for children# in these programs were entered into ELN in 2010-2011: • PA Pre-K Counts (10,611) • Head Start Supplemental (4,246) • Keystone STARS 3 & 4 (preschoolers) (13,039) • Early Intervention (36,634) # children not unduplicated and may be counted in more than one program

10. Building a coordinated quality early education system • Establishing 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. • In 2009-10, approximately 10,000 early childhood programs, 24,000 professionals and 300,000 child records were included in PELICAN.

11. 2. Supporting continuous quality improvement for programs and professionals • Through Keystone STARS, child care providers can receive targeted financial supports and technical assistance to improve quality and earn more STARS. • Helping teachers earn degrees with financial assistance and greater access to higher education. • Technical assistance through OCDEL, PA Key and Regional Keys to help providers meet program requirements and improve outcomes for children. • The number of T.E.A.C.H. scholarship recipients earning bachelor’s degrees increased by 125% between 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. • • In 2009-2010, a higher • In 2009-2010, a higher percentage of Keystone STARS programs receiving technical assistance (43.9%) moved up a STAR level than programs who did not receive technical assistance (27.5%).

12. 3. Providing more vulnerable children with quality early learning opportunities • Unified child care services for all families (including TANF and former TANF) under the Child Care Information Services (CCIS) system. • Tiered reimbursement for Keystone STARS programs serving Child Care Works children. • Expanded access to high quality services through Child Care Works. • 80% of children receiving Child Care Works are enrolled in regulated child care. • 53% of children receiving Child Care Works enrolled in Keystone STARS programs.

13. Providing more vulnerable children with quality early learning opportunities • Introduced five new ECE programs in Pennsylvania since 2000 that focus services for vulnerable children. • Developed the COMPASS online system for families to search for providers and apply for benefits. • Implemented Early Intervention Inclusion Initiative. • Nearly 22,000 vulnerable children served in these programs in 2010-2011. • 38,625 applications for Child Care Works and 38,625 searches for child care were completed through COMPASS in 2010-2011. • 71% of preschoolers receiving Early Intervention services participate in typical early childhood settings in home, child care, Head Start or preschool.

14. 4. Engaging families in their children’s early learning • OCDEL program standards include communication, partnership with families. • Kindergarten Here I Come, Here I Am, and Learning is Everywhere calendars. • Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children campaign and LEARN teams. • Parents rate very high satisfaction with OCDEL programs on Family Survey. • Nearly 135,000 Learning is Everywhere, K Here I Come and K Here I Am! Calendars were distributed in 2010-2011. • More families demand quality. Approximately 7,000 children were on waiting lists for Head Start, PA Pre-K Counts, Nurse-Family Partnership at start of 2010-2011 school year.

15. 5. Increasing program integrity There is a six-year trend of increasing quality in classrooms in OCDEL programs • Monitoring of classroom quality using the nationally-recognized Environment Rating Scales (ERS). • State and local level monitoring of providers to ensure they are meeting OCDEL program requirements. Note: Figure presents all available ECERS-R scores, including Keystone STARS, PA Pre-K Counts, and Head Start facilities. Assessments are made at the classroom level. Each data point is a single assessment of a classroom

16. Increasing program integrity • Families applying for programs that have eligibility guidelines must show documentation that they meet guidelines which may include • Documentation of income • Documentation of work or education • Consolidating vendors, smart purchasing options.

17. 6. Closing the school readiness gap before it begins • 2010-2011 child outcomes for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, Keystone STAR 3 & 4 and Head Start Supplemental Assistance programs show significant increase in the percentage of preschoolers with age-appropriate language, math, and social skills from the beginning to end of the program year.

18. Sustaining student achievement in elementary grades • Early Learning Standards aligned with 3rd-12th grade academic standards. • Pennsylvania’s Inspired Leadership program for school leaders now includes early education topics. • Local networks bring together local schools and early learning programs to help children make smooth transition to kindergarten. • Harrisburg: Third-grade children who had participated in the high-quality Harrisburg Preschool Program (HPP), which includes PA Pre-K Counts and Head Start, scored significantly higher on PSSA tests than did a matched group of students who did not participate in HPP. (51 vs. 29 percent advanced/proficient in math, 45 vs. 23 percent advanced/proficient in reading). Source: Penn State University, 2010

19. OCDEL snapshot In 2009-2010: • 35.7% of children under age five served in quality early education programs • 20.8% of infants and toddlers served • 52.2% of preschoolers served

20. Keystone STARS • 8,501 regulated child care providers as of May 2011 • 50% participate in Keystone STARS

21. Child Care Works • 130,599 children received Child Care Works in May 2011 (anticipated to serve 263,985 children in 2010-2011) • 80% in regulated child care • 53% in Keystone STARS programs

22. Early Intervention • More than half of children receiving Early Intervention services participate in typical early childhood settings

23. Percentage of preschoolers with age-appropriate proficiency, Fall 2010-Spring 2011

24. How we rank in the nation: Ed Week’s Quality Counts 2011 • Children’s Chance for Success- 13th • Transitions and Alignment: 20th Kids Count Report 2010 • Overall child well-being: 24th • NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulation and Oversight 2011: • Regulation – 7th • Oversight – 35th • Combined- 14th

25. More rankings... NIEER Preschool Yearbook 2010: • Access for 4 year olds: 24th • Access for 3 year olds: 13th Quality scores (out of 10): • ABG : 6 • School-based pre-k: 3 • Head Start Supplemental: 8 • PA Pre-K Counts - 6

26. Exercise: Truths, Trends and Tremendous Ideas • Start in pairs • Each person asks their partner a question, records partner’s answers on index cards • One idea per card • 2 min – switch • After each question, new partner

27. Question 1- yellow cards As you reflect on Pennsylvania’s early childhood education system, what are our strengths?

28. Question 2 – pink cards What gaps do you see in Pennsylvania’s early childhood education system?

29. Question 3 – green cards In what ways could we increase efficiencies in Pennsylvania’s early childhood education system and programs?

30. Question 4 – ivory cards What is your vision for Pennsylvania’s early childhood education system by 2015?

31. Recording ideas • Each group receives stack of cards • As a group, identify the top five big ideas • Record on flipchart for group report out, discussion

32. What have we got?