Annual Report
T.E.A.C.H. Recognition 2021-2022

132 T.E.A.C.H. Recipients earn degrees
Wednesday, June 8, 2022 the Pennsylvania Child Care Association in partnership with the Start Strong PA campaign held a virtual graduation celebration for 132 T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Pennsylvania scholarship recipients from the summer of 2021, fall of 2021 and spring of 2022.T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Pennsylvania is supported by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (PDE). For more information, visit dhs.pa.gov and education.pa.gov.
T.E.A.C.H. not only helps the workforce but by increasing the education of child care teachers, child care providers become higher quality. Higher quality raises the standard of the profession by making quality education and better compensation a reality for a greater number of child care workers. These factors create a more productive atmosphere for teachers and children. The result is more consistent care which contributes to a higher level of school readiness helping children be more prepared to learn in future years.
Speakers shared that the undervaluing and underfunding of child care will continue to not only impact the quality of children’s care and education but continue to pose great risk to both families’ and communities’ economic future, unless there are systemic solutions.
Download the program HERE: https://www.flipsnack.com/pacca/2022_teach_celebration/full-view.html

View the June 8, 2022 event recording HERE: https://vimeo.com/722300121
T.E.A.C.H. 2020-2021
FY 20 Results
The quality of early care and education a child receives is directly linked to the education and compensation of early educators. In Pennsylvania, many early educators do not have higher education degrees and many earn less than $15 an hour. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program awards educational scholarships to early education professionals to address the key issues of under-education, poor compensation and high turnover in the workforce. All T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® scholarships link increased education with higher compensation and retention. Scholarship recipients and their sponsoring early care and education programs share the cost.
In Pennsylvania, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® is administered by Pennsylvania Child Care Association. In FY21, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® PENNSYLVANIA helped 912 early education professionals increase their education.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® PENNSYLVANIA is supported by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (PDE). For more information, visit dhs.pa.gov and education.pa.gov.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® PENNSYLVANIA is administered by the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA). T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® PENNSYLVANIA is a licensed program of Child Care Services Association. For more information call visit www.pacca.org or call 717-657-9000.
SOURCE: 2020-2021 TEACH Early Childhood® and Child Care WAGE$® State Profile Compendium, Child Care Services Association (CCSA) and the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center (the National Center)
2021 T.E.A.C.H. Recognition Event
94 T.E.A.C.H. Recipients Earn Credentials and Degrees
Despite the challenges of COVID, T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship recipients continued to pursue their higher education goals, employers continue to support their teachers, and higher education pivoted and created more online solutions so students could continue their studies.
On June 9, 2021, the Pennsylvania Child Care Association hosted the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Program Recognition event -- recognizing 94 T.E.A.C.H. recipients who had earned credentials and degrees between Fall of 2020 and Spring of 2021.
The event was co-sponsored by the Start Strong PA Campaign. Start Strong PA is an initiative of Early Learning PA. Through a statewide collaboration of partners, Start Strong PA aims to support healthy child development, working families, and the economy by increasing access to and affordability of high-quality child care programs for young children. Learn more at www.startstrongpa.org.
Download the program HERE: https://www.flipsnack.com/PACCA/2021_teach_recog_final-final/full-view.html
View the event recording here: https://vimeo.com/561536168
T.E.A.C.H. 2019-2020
FY 20 Results
In Pennsylvania, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® is administered by Pennsylvania Child Care Association. In FY20, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Pennsylvania helped 1,076 early education professionals increase their education.
The quality of early care and education a child receives is directly linked to the education and compensation of early educators. In Pennsylvania, many early educators do not have higher education degrees and many earn less than $12 an hour. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program awards educational scholarships to early education professionals in an effort to address the key issues of under-education, poor compensation and high turnover in the early education workforce. All T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® scholarships link increased education with higher compensation and retention. Scholarship recipients and their sponsoring early care and education programs share the cost.
SOURCE: Child Care Services Association (CCSA) and the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center (the National Center), 2019-2020 TEACH Early Childhood® and Child Care WAGE$® State Profile Compendium.
T.E.A.C.H. 2018-2019
Nearly 7,000 Pennsylvania T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Recipients
The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Program came to Pennsylvania 20 years ago and has since funded 6,947 recipients to earn degrees and credentials in early childhood education debt-free. As a result, these individuals have advanced their careers and increased their earnings, while continuing to work in the field as classroom teachers and program administrators of Child Care, Head Start and PreK Counts programs.In FY 18-19 T.E.A.C.H. participants made significant progress toward completing degrees while continuing to work in the field. That progress is highlighted in detail on page 4 of this report, while the information below provides an overview of the year’s activities.
A look at the overall data from FY 18-19 shows that T.E.A.C.H. participants are making gains in education, compensation and retention far beyond what the scholarship program requires.
- Education: participants earn substantially more credits than the minimum required and maintain high GPAs during their participation in the program.
- Compensation: participants receive increases in earnings that exceed the minimum 4% that is required.
- Retention: participants stay with their programs longer than the required commitment period as a result of increased earnings and job satisfaction.