PDE Offers Opportunity to Learn About Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Prior to Full Rebid in 2023 (October 26, 2022) – PAPSA – Pennsylvania Association of Pupil Services Administrators

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is announcing opportunities to participate in informational webinars and regional meetings to learn about the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts (PA PKC) program.

FY 2022-2023 is the last program year for the current five-year grant cycle of the PA PKC program. In the Spring of 2023, PDE will announce a full, competitive rebid. During the rebid, all eligible providers interested in receiving a grant must apply. It is important during the application process that eligible applicants fully understand the program regulations and expectations so that informed decisions can be made regarding whether to apply. PDE recognizes the need to provide opportunities to learn about the program and to allow time for community needs assessments and regional collaboration, therefore informational webinar sessions will be offered November 2022 through January 2023, and regional opportunities will occur in February 2023 before the official Request for Applications (RFA) is released.

Eligible Applicants
Pennsylvania is committed to a mixed delivery system. As such, eligible applicants include existing Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts grantees and new applicants from these five eligible entity categories:

School districts;
PDE licensed nursery schools;
Head Start grantees;
Child care centers and group child care homes designated at Keystone STAR 3 or STAR 4; and
A third-party entity applying for Pennsylvania Pre‐K Counts funding to administer the lead agency responsibilities for entities that are eligible to provide the classroom services under the categories listed above.

Eligible applicants must provide assurance that they operate in full compliance with Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Statute, Regulations, and Guidance.

Webinar Opportunities
All eligible applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the full series of offered webinars to fully understand the PA PKC program regulations and expectations. The webinars will review program information and provide an opportunity to ask questions.

Regional Meetings
Opportunities for regional networking will occur in February 2023 throughout the state. These opportunities will be announced later and will provide interested applicants a means to coordinate and collaborate on required RFA items such as community needs assessments and partnerships, which will be highly prioritized during the RFA process.