PA Keystone Stars

Keystone STARS:
Building a better, brighter future for Pennsylvania

Child care in Pennsylvania serves more than 300,000 children, and is the largest program helping to prepare Pennsylvania’s young children for school. Research shows that every moment is a learning experience for young children, and that the quality of these experiences has a great impact on the child.

Keystone STARS provides families with a tool to gauge the quality of child care programs and supports child care programs in their commitment to continuous quality improvement. Begun as a pilot program in 2002, Keystone STARS now is fully implemented and has been widely accepted by parents and early childhood programs. Programs may enter Keystone STARS at the Start with STARS level and earn a STAR 1 through STAR 4 rating based on research-based standards for staff education and professional development, the early learning environment, and business management As of December 2006, nearly 4,300 child care programs serving over 152,800 children were enrolled in Keystone STARS. This includes nearly 70 percent of the child care centers in the Commonwealth.

Keystone STARS
is making a difference

An evaluation report on Keystone STARS from the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University1 found
o Keystone STARS is reversing the negative trend in child care quality that was evident in the late 1990’s.
o Child care centers in Keystone STARS have higher quality than the Pennsylvania average for child care centers and are showing higher quality now than at the inception of the STARS program.
Keystone STARS helps children, families and communities reach their promise:

· Keystone STARS increases access to quality early learning opportunities for Pennsylvania’s young children. As early learning programs earn higher STARS ratings, they are improving the quality of the early education each child receives. Children who attend high quality early learning programs do better in school; are less likely to repeat a grade or require special education services; are more likely to graduate high school and attend college; have higher earnings; and are more productive citizens.

· Keystone STARS helps parents make the best choices for their children and family. When looking for quality early learning programs, parents can use the Keystone STARS rating scale as a guide. With this information, parents can select the best early learning program for their child. The Keystone STARS supports make it possible for child care programs to improve their quality without drastically increasing the cost to parents.


Governor Rendell’s proposed FY 2007-08 investment of $56 million would benefit more than 176,000 children and make it possible for our child care programs to continue to improve the quality of early learning experiences they provide to our young children. For more information on Keystone STARS, contact the Office of Child Development and Early Learning at (717) 346-9320.


1 “Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS Quality Rating System in Child Care Settings, “ December 2006, available at http://www.pakeys.org/stars/KeystoneStarsEvaluation.aspx