BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Bethlehem Area School District has decided to leave Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS program — a ratings system — over staffing concerns.
Keystone STARS issues child care and preschool programs a rating from one to four stars based on staff education levels, classroom environment, family involvement and program management. Consumers can use the ratings as a way of comparing child care options.
Bethlehem schools Superintendent Joe Roy said worker shortages have resulted in a waiting list of parents hoping to enroll their children in the district's child care program.
- Bethlehem Area School District decided to leave the Keystone STARS child care program
- School officials say the program is hindering the hiring and retaining of workers
- The district says staffing shortages have created a waitlist of parents wanting to enroll their kids into BASD child care locations
Angela Kukitz, BASD supervisor of child care, said the STARS program’s strict requirements are making it more difficult to recruit and retain workers. According to the district, this is the first year that the Keystone STARS program will require 50% or more of all workers to have a bachelor’s degree to earn a higher star rating.
Kukitz said the district’s child care centers rank between 2 and 4 stars, depending on which of the 12 locations.
In an emailed statement, Brandon Cwalina, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, said the program does not require half or more of staff at child care facilities to have a bachelor’s degree in order to earn a STAR 3 or STAR 4 designation. But he said it is one of the performance standards they look at when determining STAR ratings and counts staff pursuing higher-education degrees favorably when evaluating facilities.
"However, facilities do not need to meet a specific number of staff with bachelor's degrees, and this does not count against a facility seeking a higher STARS designation," he said in an email.
Roy said the district's child care program will remain automatically enrolled in STARS, with all locations retaining a one-star rating after each location declines to renew its application. Since each location's renewal deadline occurs at different times, the process will happen over several months.
Roy said the district would lose some money from the state because of the move, but he anticipates adding revenue by enrolling more children into the district's child care program.
The district mostly operates before- and after-school child care for grades K-5. Kukitz said the district also provides six Preschool Counts classrooms that run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Preschool Counts is a quality Pre-K program for at-risk children, which is a separate program from Keystone STARS.
“The average pay rate for child care across the board for a teacher in child care is anywhere between $9 and $15 an hour,” she said. “So we have a really hard time finding people who work so hard to get a bachelor’s level degree and then end up working in a location where if it’s not what their true passion is, they’re not going to stick around.”
Kukitz said the new education requirement is a big issue when trying to recruit workers who have a lot of experience in the field, but lack the educational credentials.
Data supplied by the school district showed that aides generally make about $13.68 an hour. The required minimum education is an eighth-grade education and two years of experience or a high school diploma. Leads, who need the equivalent of a high school diploma and two years of experience, earn $15.85. Pay rates for those with associate's or bachelor’s degrees were not specified, but are based on experience, education and time with the district.
“Our younger folks who are coming in out of college, this is all that they know. But we want people who are really experienced to work with our kids here.”Angela Kukitz, supervisor of child care programs
“Our younger folks who are coming in out of college, this is all that they know,” she told school board members at a public meeting earlier this month. “But we want people who are really experienced to work with our kids here.”
Kukitz said another problem with recruiting more highly educated staff members is most of the positions are not full-time. She said most of her employees work between 20 to 30 hours a week.
Kukitz said the education requirements, along with paperwork requirements, have lowered morale along child care staff and reduced the time workers spend supervising kids. She said that child subsidy add-on rates have also fallen.
Kukitz told school board members she believes the program is better geared told pre-school children who need academic assistance so they enter kindergarten ready to learn. She said the before- and after-school programs are focused more on setting them up in the morning for a good day at school because of possible issues in the home and helping them after school to cope with issues they may have had during day or possibly are facing at home.
“It’s a place for them to feel safe, loved and still get that academic support,” she said. “As we did and always will offer homework support time.”
Roy said he agreed that the additional hoops the program required were better suited to child care programs that serve pre-K children and operate the entire day instead of only before and after school.
