Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs: Access, Quality, and Workforce
SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITHOUT PRE-K COUNTS OR SCHOOL DISTRICT PRE-K
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) is the gold standard when analyzing pre-k programs nationwide, issuing its annual State of Preschool report for nearly two decades. As part of NIEER’s research and analysis, it looks at each state’s quality markers to identify which states meet high-quality programming standards. When it began reporting in 2001, NIEER noted that no state-funded preschool program met its 10 benchmarks for defining high-quality programming. In the State of Preschool 2022 report, only five states met all 10, and unfortunately, Pennsylvania is not one of them. 61 When looking at NIEER’s 10 benchmarks, the Pre-K Counts and HSSAP programs meet 8 out of the 10 benchmarks. In HSSAP, the two unmet benchmarks are teacher degrees and a continuous quality improvement system. NIEER’s benchmark
for teacher degrees requires educators in high- quality programs to hold a bachelor’s degree, and Pennsylvania’s HSSAP program only requires an associate degree. Further, when it comes to continuous quality improvement systems, NIEER benchmarks high-quality as requiring structured classroom observations and then using the data for program improvement. In HSSAP, while structured classroom observations occur, the data is only used for program improvement locally instead of being used to improve the program statewide. In Pre-K Counts, Pennsylvania falls short in its requirements of assistant teacher degrees, where the benchmark requires a Child Development Associate or equivalent, and the state only requires a high-school diploma and experience. In addition, Pre-K Counts falls slightly short in its professional development requirements for teachers and
August 2023
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