Welcome!
Every child under eight deserves the brightest future possible. And it all starts with quality early childhood education.
The Promising Kids Campaign is dedicated to making sure every parent has access to the best early childcare information. Take a look around, check out our One Smart Mom blog, get resources for your family, or drop us a line. We are happy you found us and welcome you to join the Promising Kids movement.
Breaking News
Recently, the state Senate passed a budget (SB 1466) that supports quality early learning programs by making funding restorations to Pre-K Counts, Head Start and some of the Accountability Block Grant.
However, it included $8.7 million in additional cuts to Child Care beyond the $24.15 million in reductions in Governor’s Tom Corbett’s proposed FY 12-13 budget released earlier this year. Child care could lose nearly $33 million which would have devastating consequences for children and families.
$8.7 million in cuts target the heart of Keystone STARS
- Infrastructure and administration of Keystone STARS at the local level would be gone. Keystone STARS is a nationally recognized quality improvement program for child care programs across the state
- Professional development for teachers would be eliminated.
- No more Technical Assistance to programs to help them move up the quality ladder including specialized supports like early childhood mental health consultation
$24.15 million in cuts to Child Care Works
- Longer waiting lists and increased waits for low income working families
- Fewer subsidized children to fill slots in programs jeopardizing your program’s participation in Keystone STARS — if there is a Keystone STARS program!
SB 1501 T.E.AC.H. Scholarship Bill
- Funding cuts jeopardize chances of restoring T.E.A.C.H.What Can You Do?
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD TODAY!
- Download the template (PDF or Word document) to tell your House members why quality child care is important to you and your children.
- Share your story, have children draw pictures of themselves, their friends, their classrooms.
- Send your pictures to your House members
- Go to www.legis.state.pa.us and in the top right hand corner click on “Find members by address”
- Enter your address and click “go”
- Both the House and Senate members will be displayed. Click on the member to display his/her contact information.
The Latest from Our Blog
DVAEYC Conference Draws 1000+ Early Childhood Educators to Philadelphia
Last week, the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) hosted its annual conference at the Philadelphia Convention Center, drawing thousands of infant and toddler educators from throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania for hands-on workshops and skills development classes designed to help them provide excellent care and education to our young children. On May [...]
But Mama, Everybody’s Doing It…
I know better than to expect my children to be immune to peer pressure, but I thought I at least still had a little time to prepare. Not so, according to a study published last month in the journal Current Biology. Indeed, researchers in Europe have found that 2-year-olds are more likely to copy an [...]
Confessions of a Multi-Tasking Mom: Can It Actually Be Good for the Kids?
Whether they like it or not, both of my children will spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen. That’s the price you pay when your mom is a chef (which is what I do when I’m not writing). For Eli’s earliest years – and now Layla’s – that principally means sitting in a [...]
When You Read to Your Child, Talk about the Print on the Page
On a recent trip to the library, upon discovering it was closed for the day, Eli threw a fit. Once he could see for himself that the doors were locked and no one else was being allowed in either, he was more willing to accept the fact that he’d have to go to the park [...]
State of Preschool 2011 Report Shows Falling Investment in Preschool
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) this week released its 2011 State of Preschool Yearbook, the most recent edition of an annual report that for the past decade has been shining a spotlight on state-funded prekindergarten programs throughout the nation. The report, which analyzes preschool access, funding, and programming at the national level [...]
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DVAEYC Conference Draws 1000+ Early Childhood Educators to Philadelphia
Last week, the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) hosted its annual conference at the Philadelphia Convention Center, drawing thousands of infant and toddler educators from throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania for hands-on workshops and skills development classes designed to help them provide excellent care and education to our young children. On May [...]
But Mama, Everybody’s Doing It…
I know better than to expect my children to be immune to peer pressure, but I thought I at least still had a little time to prepare. Not so, according to a study published last month in the journal Current Biology. Indeed, researchers in Europe have found that 2-year-olds are more likely to copy an [...]
Confessions of a Multi-Tasking Mom: Can It Actually Be Good for the Kids?
Whether they like it or not, both of my children will spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen. That’s the price you pay when your mom is a chef (which is what I do when I’m not writing). For Eli’s earliest years – and now Layla’s – that principally means sitting in a [...]
When You Read to Your Child, Talk about the Print on the Page
On a recent trip to the library, upon discovering it was closed for the day, Eli threw a fit. Once he could see for himself that the doors were locked and no one else was being allowed in either, he was more willing to accept the fact that he’d have to go to the park [...]
State of Preschool 2011 Report Shows Falling Investment in Preschool
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) this week released its 2011 State of Preschool Yearbook, the most recent edition of an annual report that for the past decade has been shining a spotlight on state-funded prekindergarten programs throughout the nation. The report, which analyzes preschool access, funding, and programming at the national level [...]
