The Program Quality Assessment (PQA) Team is available to support you in the Internal Assessment Process (IAP) by completing an on-site assessment in your program. In addition to the Environment Rating Scales® (ERS) and Classroom Observation Scoring System® (CLASS®) this opportunity is available for all Program Observation Instruments (POIs) listed in the Keystone STARS Standards.Read More

Natalie Grebe A key component of a program’s sustained quality that may not receive consistent attention is the director’s observations of classrooms. It is best practice for directors to observe classrooms and review their findings with teachers. Most directors will say the biggest reason for not being able to do this as well as they...Read More

By Kitty Syster   What is the DERS? The Developmental Environment Rating Scale, DERS, is a program observation instrument to evaluate your classroom environment. The DERS is based on Montessori philosophy which measures qualities such as patience and persistence in children, precision and clarity in lessons, and order in the environment, which support the development...Read More

Guest Blogger- Jennifer Roberts Extended Day Services manages 22 school-age programs, mostly in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. We have been around for 30 years and have tried many different curricula and SEL concepts over the years.  Three years ago, we began using SPQA and slowly integrating its components into our programs. We integrated most...Read More

By Stefanie Camoni School-age programs continue to grow due to the demand of before and after school care. How do we serve our oldest children? What do we do with them after school ends? What is our role? How do we know we are giving them what they need? The questions posed are important ones....Read More

Beth Simon Most of us are in the early childhood and education field for our love of children and desire to make the world a better place by enriching the lives of children. Because of this outlook the business side of owning, operating, and managing the daily operations of a childcare are often an after-thought.Read More

By Amy Hoffman Have you heard the news? The Program Quality Assessment (PQA) team at the Pennsylvania Key has a lot to offer to programs. You may already know that we (usually) conduct external assessments to support early learning and school-age programs; this involves an assessor visiting your program and observing a wide range of...Read More

How did the Environment Rating Scales evolve? The family of Environment Rating Scales (ECERS, ITERS, FCCERS, & SACERS) initially grew out of my many years of experience teaching in different types of Early Childhood Education programs including as a Family Child Care provider, Parent CO-OP Preschool Teacher, Head Start teacher, Head Teacher of the four...Read More