Northern Pennsylvania Regional College (NPRC) recently received professional designation by the Pennsylvania Key for their Early Childhood Education Program. The Department of Human Services (DHS) identifies NPRC as a Pennsylvania Quality Assurance System (PQAS) provider for “PA Keys to Professional Development approved instruction.” A PQAS designation is a formal recognition that all Early Childhood Education coursework at NPRC meets quality standards for content and applies to a student’s professional learning transcript in the statewide early childhood workforce registry, the Pennsylvania Professional Development (PD) Registry.
Features of NPRC’s Early Childhood Education Program
A key component of the Early Childhood Education Associate of Applied Science degree is that students are immediately able to enter the field with little to no additional onboarding requirements for available jobs. Students who satisfactorily complete the program will have finished all new-hire coursework and documentation for early childhood providers in Pennsylvania, have completed the required professional development for their first full year of employment, and have obtained a PA PD Registry Level B Career Pathway rating.
The Early Childhood Education degree at NPRC also prepares students to develop a portfolio for candidacy for the Child Development Associate (CDA). The CDA is the most widely recognized and accepted credential in the early childhood education field and is issued by the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, DC. The CDA is becoming a preferred credential for employment in many child care facilities.
Leigh Anne Kraemer-Naser, full-time Early Childhood Education Instructor at NPRC tells her students “Everything is possible in the classroom.” With the professional opportunities this program ties in, along with her interactive approach to classroom teaching and learning, she shares “students completing this degree program with NPRC become innovative thinkers and are highly marketable for a position in the field of early childhood education.”
The Spring term for Northern Pennsylvania Regional College begins January 22. Applications are being accepted. NPRC is authorized by the PA Department of Education to grant Associate degrees and certificates in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is proudly pursuing regional accreditation.