Early Childhood Education (ECE) Professionals

Pennsylvania’s Professional Development (PD) Registry supports the professional growth of Early Childhood and School-Age Professionals by serving as a one-stop shop to:

  • Track employment, education and training history;
  • Plan professional development including access to an easy to use self-assessment tool; and
  • Find statewide quality professional training opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started Tipsheets

Employment Tipsheets

Professional Development Tipsheets

NEW! Keystone STARS – Streamlined Pre-Designation and Designation

Learn more about Keystone STARS (pakeys.org/keystone-stars).

Career Pathway Placement Review Form

For more information on Pennsylvania’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) Career Pathway, click here.

Self-Assessment & Professional Development Plan

As of January 2019, the new Professional Development (PD) Self-Assessment and PD Plan are now housed in the PD Registry!

  • PD Self-Assessment: To find the PD Self-Assessment, start by logging into your account on www.papdregistry.org. From the My Personal Profile page, click the PD Self-Assessment tab. This feature is compatible with both the Pennsylvania Core Knowledge Competencies and Big Ideas Framework for Early Childhood & School-Age Professionals.
  • PD Plan: To find the new PD Plan, start by logging into your account on www.papdregistry.org. Hover over the left menu and select Professional Development Plan. This online version of the PD Plan can help professionals track both short-term and long-term goals. It can also help determine intended outcomes, identify potential barriers, and provide additional resources if needed.

If you are still interested in filling out a hard copy of the PD Plan, you can find that document below. Pay careful attention to the directions on how to save and fill it out. NOTE: This form cannot be filled out and saved in your internet browser. You must download this document to your computer or mobile device, open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader to fill it out, and re-save it to your computer or mobile device. Again, this cannot be filled out and saved in your web browser.

Family/Group Child Care Guide

Program Directors, Administrators & Owners

Cover of PD Registry Director Guide

A Director’s Guide to Pennsylvania’s Professional Development (PD) Registry

This guide is meant to be a resource for Directors to successfully set up their organization profile and view reports for their verified staff members completed Professional Development, Self-Assessments, PD Plan completions, and Career Pathway placements. Each section is meant to help Directors complete their own requirements and/or assist their staff in successfully navigating the PD Registry.

View the PD Registry’s Director’s Guide  (PDF)

Cover of PD Registry Director Guide in Spanish

Guía de Director por el Registro de PD

Esta guía está destinada a ser un recurso para que los directores configuren con éxito su perfil de organización y vean los informes de los miembros del personal verificados que completaron el desarrollo profesional, las autoevaluaciones, las finalizaciones del plan de PD y las ubicaciones en el camino profesional. Cada sección tiene como objetivo ayudar a los directores a completar sus propios requisitos y/o ayudar a su personal a navegar con éxito por el Registro de PD.

Ve la guía del Director por el Registro de PD (PDF)

The PD Registry processes organization accounts for Early Childhood and School-Age programs. Having an organization account allows child care programs to:

  • Access verified staff qualifications for meeting DHS and Keystone STARS requirements;
  • Support staff with professional development planning; and
  • Track staff completion of DHS and Keystone STARS training requirements.

Certified childcare organizations can register staff members for training using the statewide training calendar.

Recorded Webinar on the PD Registry and Career Pathway with Accompanying FAQ Document for Directors from December 2019

Full Tipsheets