State of Early Care and Education - 2023

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs: Access, Quality, and Workforce

assistant teachers by not requiring individual professional development plans and coaching for all teachers. Workforce is an Essential Factor in the Early Care and Education System As NIEER clearly shows in its quality benchmarks, a skilled teaching workforce is critical to providing high-quality pre-k programs. Educational effectiveness in early childhood education requires educators to have specialized knowledge of child development. This content knowledge supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development, laying the foundation for all future learning competencies. Teachers must teach the curriculum and understand how to instruct young children and develop relationships with them. Stable, consistent relationships are best for

young children as they develop social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills. Yet, while quality expects and demands the appropriate knowledge and credentials of professionals, the compensation for pre-k teachers remains significantly lower than their colleagues in K-12 settings. 62 The pay disparity between early childhood educators and educators in the K-12 system is significant. It leads to high turnover and staffing shortages, further deepening the ability to access high-quality programs. And as mentioned, with child care programs making up slightly less than half of Pre-K Counts providers in the state, the workforce crisis they face with low wages and staffing shortages, coupled with the pre-k shortages, is leading the state into severe early care and education staffing crisis.

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Pennsylvania Lead Teacher Education and Training Comparisons 63

Head Start • Education: Associate, Bachelor’s, or advanced degree in child development or ECE, or in a related field with coursework equivalent to a major relating to ECE and experience teaching preschool children • Complete a minimum of 15 hours of professional development per year

Pre-K Counts • Education: Bachelor’s degree and ECE certificate • Must complete a minimum of 24 post-baccalaureate credits to convert from Instructional Level I to Level II within six years • Participation in a PDE- approved teacher induction program • 150 hours of Act 48 approved professional development every five years to maintain certification

PK-4 • Education: Bachelor’s degree and ECE certificate • Must complete a minimum of 24 post-baccalaureate credits to convert from Instructional Level I to Level II within six years • Participate in a PDE- approved teacher induction program • 150 hours of Act 48 approved professional development every five years to maintain certification

2023 State of Early Care and Education

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