OCDEL Standards

Over 30 years of research confirms the foundational importance of early education and care for children’s school and life success.  As Pennsylvania seeks to emphasize its early learning programs, a standards-based approach to programs is vital.  Children are born with an incredible capacity and desire to learn.  It is critical that their first steps are in the right direction.  Research-based standards are essential to building the foundation for a strong start—one that effectively provides children with skills and gives them the confidence to stay the course, graduate from high school or college, and contribute productively to communities and workplaces. 

The Early Learning Standards were developed as a joint project of the Departments of Education and Public Welfare as part of a commitment to early childhood education and care. The Early Learning Standards are meant to guide children's development, and were developed by a Task Force consisting of early childhood practitioners and administrators, policy analysts and researchers, and university faculty. Support for the development of the standards was provided through the national Build Initiative, which is a multi-state partnership that helps states construct a coordinated system of programs and policies that responds to the needs of young children. 

The early childhood learning standards provide guidance for the development of programs’ continuum of learning. They are also aligned with higher grade level content, beginning with third grade. They provide a framework that can be used by practitioners to assess children’s learning and plan appropriate lessons and strategies for the population they serve. Families along with early childhood practitioners can work as a team to build upon knowledge and enhance the development of new understandings.

Resources

What's New in the Revised Learning Standards for Early Childhood? Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)

What's New with Early Learning Standards? (ppt)

Certified Trainers for ELS Workshops (pdf)

PA Crosswalk for ELS (pdf)

Alignment with Common Core (pdf)

Certified Trainers for Early Learning Standards Workshops

Early Childhood practitioners from across the Commonwealth participated in the first “Train the Trainers” session for the Early Learning Standards. Attendees who completed the full two-day session are certified trainers. Please contact them directly to schedule your community training on the Early Learning Standards.
 
List of Certified Trainers for the Early Learning Standards (Excel)

New information on obtaining copies of the 2009 Revised Standards  

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning is pleased to announce that the  2009 Revised Early Learning Standards are in print and ready for distribution. We are excited to discover more and more practitioners are requesting and using the Standards in their early learning environments.  The Office of Child Development and Early Learning must charge everyone seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50)per Standard. This  charge will be applied to each Infant/Toddler Standards, Early Learning Standards, Kindergarten Standards, First Grade Standards and Second Grade Standards booklet that is ordered. When each of the  Infant/Toddler, Pre-kindergarten or Kindergarten Revised Standards are ordered, a copy of the Continuum and posters will be included in the cost of ($7.50) .   Orders will still be placed and processed by Waveline Direct.  A packet of all three Revised Standards (Infant/Toddler, Pre-kindergarten, and Kindergarten) plus Continuum and posters can be ordered for twenty dollars ($20.00). 

 
Place orders for any of the Early Childhood Standards through Waveline Direct: fulfill@wavelinedirect.com or use order form below. 

PA Learning Standards for Early Chilhood Order Form (pdf)

Continuum 2010 (pdf)

Continuum 2010 (Spanish) (pdf) 

Standards - Infants and Toddlers 2010 (pdf)

Standards - Infants and Toddlers (Black & White) (pdf)

Standards - Infants and Toddlers (Spanish) (pdf)

Standards - PreKindergarten 2010 (pdf)

Standards - PreKindergarten (Black & White) 2010 (pdf) 

Standards - PreKindergarten (Spanish) 2010 (pdf)

Standards - Kindergarten 2010 (pdf)

Standards - Kindergarten (Black & White) (pdf) 

Standards - Kindergarten (Spanish) (pdf)

Standards - First Grade 2008 (PDF) 

Standards - Second Grade 2008 (PDF) 

Early Learning Standards Posters Are Now Available for Purchase

Posters that accompany the Revised 2009 Infant/Toddler Standards, the Revised 2009 Pre-kindergarten Standards and the Revised 2009 Kindergarten Standards are now available for purchase as an individual package without the Standards booklets. To order a set of these posters for five dollars ($5.00), contact our printer, Waveline Direct at fulfill@wavelinedirect.com

Approaches To Learning Through Play (pdf)

Creative Thinking and Expression - Communicating Through the Arts (pdf)

Standards - Health and Wellness (pdf)

Language and Literacy   (pdf)

Mathematical Thinking (pdf)

Scientific Thinking (pdf)

Social Studies (pdf)

Social and Emotional (pdf)

Partnerships (pdf)