Statewide Partnership Promotes Early Kindergarten Registration
The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is teaming up with partners throughout the state to ensure that families are aware of the importance of and opportunities in their communities for early Kindergarten registration.
Early Kindergarten registration is about being prepared--for children, their families, childcare/early learning programs, and schools. Tracey Campanini, Director of The Bureau of Early Learning Services at OCDEL states, "Starting with early registration in the late winter or early spring, families can begin a months-long adventure getting ready for school in the fall."
Several resources are available to assist families,child care/early learning programs, and schools with the transition process. School districts and Local Education and Resource Network (LEARN) partners are working to ensure Kindergarten registration information is available in a central location.There are also available family friendly resources, such as Kindergarten, Here I Come! Activity Guide and Recipes for Readiness that can be printed at no cost. One page flyers with Kindergarten readiness information are also available to print and display. Families, early learning professionals, and school staff can also sign up to receive the monthly Kindergarten, Here I Come! and Kindergarten, Here I Am! enews. Download the one page flyer promoting the E-news and share during kindergarten registration so families will have developmentally-appropriate activities up to and throughout kindergarten.
For additional information about kindergarten registration and readiness, visit the PA's Promise for Children website. Submit early Kindergarten registration information to marhal@berksiu.org.
RFI for Authentic Assessments to be considered as an approved assessment tool for 2016-2017
Deadline April 1, 2015
Notice for early childhood assessment companies interested in submitting authentic assessments to be considered as an approved assessment tool for 2016-2017. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) released their Request for Information (RFI) on February 2, 2015. All interested parties are encouraged to submit responses, including all approved vendors for 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. Respondents must submit RFI responses no later than April 1, 2015.
Pennsylvania continues to promote authentic assessment for young children. Teachers observe a child through all activities in the day that yield the necessary information to determine skill levels. Teachers and caregivers are the most qualified to assess a young child because they observe the child in authentic environments, and are most familiar with each child's development and learning expectations.
This RFI is concerned with the use of authentic assessment tools to collect child outcomes from OCDEL programs, specifically Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, Keystone STAR 3, 4 and 4A centers, to include group homes and family childcare homes, and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs.
Early Learning programs: If there is a specific tool you want considered, contact the assessment company and encourage them to submit a response to the RFI. Potential assessments companies must meet nine criteria to be considered. Once these basic nine criteria are met, the assessments companies will receive a notification of conditional approval or denial in May. If conditional approval is assigned the alignment process will start. The Request for Information announcement is available by clicking here.
Responses may be submitted electronically or in writing to the following email account and address:
RA-eln@pa.gov
Outcomes Reporting RFI Response
Office of Child Development and Early Learning
333 Market Street, 6th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
Questions may be submitted in writing to RA-eln@pa.gov.
Let's Move! Pennsylvania Mini-grant Awardees
Following the Let's Move! Pennsylvania conference held on 
October 6, 2014 at University Park, Penn State Extension recently awarded three mini-grants to support the work of local coalitions as they put knowledge and best practices learned at the conference into action in their communities to prevent childhood obesity.
Through a competitive grant process, one coalition from each conference track (community, school, and child care) has been selected to implement its action plan.
Funded projects:
- Community - Huntingdon County Healthy Communities PartnerSHIP, Huntingdon, PA
- School - Bald Eagle Area Middle School Fit for Life, Wingate, PA
- Child Care - Bennett Family Child Care Center, State College, PA
Get the details about each grantee's project or find out more about Let's Move!
Families needed for Early Childhood Education Documentary
The Kindling Group and Siskel/Jacobs Productions presents, No Small Matter, a documentary film about the power and potential impact of early childhood education in American and the urgent need for quality, affordable childcare. The first feature documentary to tackle this topic, No Small Matter is designed to kick-start the public conversation about these issues through the powerful stories of families who are dealing with them every day.
The production company is seeking families to share their stories, and families who are interested in exploring the day-to-day challenges of balancing work and childcare. In particular, those families who are about to start the search for affordable, accessible care.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Martine Granby, Kindling Group at 917-468-2437 or mgranby@kindlinggroup.org.
Quality Early Learning Radio welcomes Dr. Daniel Gartrell
Listen on February 6 at 9:05 am to Quality Early Learning Radio, when they welcome Dr. Daniel Gartrell, child 
development researcher at Bemijdi State University in Bemijdi, MN. Dr. Gartrell is nationally known for his studies on the importance of developing democratic life skills in young children. He also has published a series of books on how Guidance Matters and is a regular contributor to Young Children, a magazine published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
The show can be heard on NewsTalk Radio WCED at 1120 AM/96.7 FM in the DuBois area and is simulcast on www.wcedradio.com. Recordings of past shows are available on the PA's Promise for Children website.
Coming soon: Higher Education grant opportunity for coursework alignment
As part of the workforce development of the Race to the Top/Early Learning Challenge grant, the Pennsylvania Key will be seeking applications from colleges and universities. This mini-grant opportunity is for aligning the coursework for early childhood or child development degrees, certificates or credentials with the Pennsylvania Core Knowledge Competencies for Early Childhood and School-Age Professionals.
Look for the release of the Request for Application on the PA Key website, under "Announcements" on February 6, 2015.
2015 PA One Book, Number One Sam is now available! Families and educators can access a Number One Sam maze, interactive read alouds, booklists and more! The year, the Activity Guide also features several activities from some of the earlier programs. To access the Activity Guide, click on the "Activities" tab at the top of the 
February is National Children's Dental Health Month, a good time to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Whether you're a child care professional or a parent it's important to access and be aware of how to keep children's mouths healthy. Download resources, such as posters, activity sheets for kids and other resources.
has released a new set of materials that show how adult interactions shape the growth and learning of infants and toddlers. The set includes four videos that explore key aspects of early childhood development for use in work with families and professionals, including Brain Wonders: Nurturing Healthy Brain Development From Birth; Literacy Skills: The Roots of Reading Start at Birth; Power of Play: Building Skills While Having Fun; and Temperament: What Makes Your Child Tick? 
child to the doctor's office? Learning is Everywhere has activities to do while waiting and a list of books to read before, during and after the visit. Also find out about how PA CHIP can help make those doctor's visits affordable for every family in Pennsylvania. 
meeting their obligations to English Learners (ELs), including preschool-age children. The toolkit is meant to be used in conjunction with 
encourage preschool teachers to create practical, long-term improvements in nutrition and physical activity at their preschools. Share how you plan on promoting lifelong healthy habits at your preschool or Head Start Center. Deadline February 27. 
Foundation's 2015 Innovations in Reading Prize will award $10,000 to an individual or institution (or partnership between the two) that has developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading. Deadline February 28
