Tribune-Review: New Hempfield pre-k center puts spotlight on continuing need
October 10, 2019 by Stephen Huba
A new full-day pre-kindergarten classroom in Hempfield was cause for celebration Thursday, but the celebration was muted because of the ongoing unmet need in Westmoreland County.
Leaders of Westmoreland Community Action Head Start met with area lawmakers to officially open the classroom and to advocate for more funding for pre-K classrooms in the 2020-21 state budget.
“We are at 38% of eligible children in Westmoreland County who have access to pre-K, so we still have some work to do,” said Cara Ciminillo, executive director of Trying Together, a regional early childhood education organization.
Ciminillo noted that 62% of income- eligible children in Westmoreland County don’t have access to pre-K because of a lack of funds. Pre-K programs such as Head Start (federal) and Pre-K Counts (state) serve low-income children ages 3-5 and prepare them for kindergarten.
The new classroom, one of two at the St. Paul Head Start in Carbon, was made possible as part of a $30 million line item in the 2019-20 state budget and serves 17 children, Ciminillo said. The original classroom, which serves 18 children, moved to St. Paul from Hutchinson Elementary School.
“Head Start and Pre-K Counts serve the most high-risk families in the county in an effort to narrow the gap between low-income kids and their middle-income and higher-income peers,” said Patti Prior, Westmoreland Community Action operations manager.
That gap represents not only academic performance but also social and emotional skills, she said.
“We try to engage parents very early. … Research indicates that when families are engaged early, they’ll be involved later in life,” Prior said.
Westmoreland Community Action operates 25 pre-K classrooms in 14 school districts, and has an enrollment of 491 students. It was the only county Head Start agency to receive funding for a new classroom this year.
“We were lucky to get the 17 slots that we did get,” said Tammy Patterson, vice president for Westmoreland Community Action’s Children & Family Services.
Read the full article here.
Delaware County Times: Educators in Interboro Make the Case for Pre-k Education
October 10, 2019 by Kevin Tustin
PROSPECT PARK — Extending access to pre-kindergarten education access in Interboro School District was lauded by early-education advocates and state lawmakers Wednesday morning.
Over 50 district students are enrolled in full day pre-K at the district’s Kindergarten Center in Prospect Park, up from 34 in the last school year and 16 half-day students in 2017-18. A state grant worth $446,240 helped to establish three full-time classes for the year which goes to pay for three teachers and three paraprofessionals.
“We truly embrace pre-K and know and recognize the valuable role it plays in supporting our youngest students,” said Interboro Superintendent and former Kindergarten Academy Principal Bernadette Reiley. “I have always wanted to provide pre-K. With the help of Dr. Valerie Eckman, our curriculum director, and the support of the board we had a vision that if there was ever an opportunity to apply and bring pre-K to Interboro that is something we wanted to do.”
A roundtable discussion about the benefits of the district’s program yielded feedback about student’s having better social and emotional development, comprehensive learning skills and, quite simply, being ready “to school” ahead of the full-day kindergarten program that follows.
At present there are 270 kindergartners in the district and 51 pre-K slots. The current cohort will represent almost one-fifth of the next kindergarten class.
Read the full article here.
Morning Call: Letter to the Editor: Teacher: Why Quality Pre-k Programs are Important
August 30, 2019
When my students walk in on that first day of kindergarten, children who didn’t attend high-quality pre-K are usually not as prepared for learning and often struggle to keep up with the children who did. They are more hesitant to make friends, less confident to ask or answer a question, aren’t prepared for the flow of the school day, and they aren’t as ready to learn.
Teachers statewide, including me, thank our lawmakers for their votes in June to approve $30 million more for pre-K in the 2019-20 state budget. However, more needs to be done.
We need to continue seeing the support of our lawmakers until all children in Pennsylvania have access to a high-quality pre-K program. It is our best chance to prepare every child for success in kindergarten and in life.
Amy Bell
Read the Letter to the Editor here.
WBRE: Monroe County Daycare and Preschool Honored
August 23, 2019 by Jayne Ann Bugda
POCONO PINES, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU-TV) It’s back to school time and one pre-school in our area is being recognized for its success.
Wee Wons Daycare and Preschool In Pocono Pines is celebrating its 31st anniversary. State Senator Mario Scavello and State Representative Jack Rader presented the school with a certificate this afternoon.
The early learning center can provide care for 125 students and has the highest rating by a state grading system.
Thanks to Vigon International A Pre-K Scholarship was also awarded by the Pocono Mountains United Way for $10,000. The funds will help low-income students attend the school. Over the years the fragrance company has donated about $80, 000 to various early education programs.
“We recruit from the community. Our team shops in the community go to church in the community so as the leader of this team I feel an obligation to be able to give back.” Said Stephen Somers, President Vigon International
“Our kids come first. It’s all about the kids, they’re our future so we want this for them so we can give them so our future is what it should be. We give them what we can to help them get to that point” said Cheryl Traylor, Director Wee Wons
After the presentation, Senator Scavello put on his “thinking cap” and read to the students.
Watch the video coverage here.
York Dispatch: OpEd: Quality pre-K prepares kids for school
August 1, 2019 by Ruthie Mohney, Northeastern School District
As a kindergarten teacher of nearly 17 years, I am often asked if I notice a difference between kids who have attended prekindergarten and those who have not. My answer is always the same: YES, YES, and YES!
As a new school year begins, I know I will see it again. Students coming into kindergarten from quality pre-K have an advantage over their peers who didn’t get the same opportunities.
That’s why I’m among the 96 percent of Pennsylvania kindergarten teachers who confirm what research has historically indicated — that children who attend high-quality, publicly funded pre-K enter kindergarten ready to succeed. We said so in a statewide survey from the Pre-K for PA campaign and the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Remarkably, 98 percent of my colleagues agree that high-quality, publicly funded pre-K is an important tool in preparing at-risk children for kindergarten.
Children who didn’t get high-quality pre-K are usually not as prepared for learning and less confident when they walk in on that first day of kindergarten. They are more hesitant to make friends, less confident to ask or answer a question, are less willing to share, and aren’t as ready to learn. I must spend more of my time teaching them academic fundamentals, such as literacy and numeracy, as well as classroom routines.
Research shows the varied benefits of high-quality, publicly funded pre-K:
- Physical well-being: Regular physical activity is essential to the developing brain’s ability to gather, process, and understand information.
- Social-emotional readiness: Teachers trained in developmentally appropriate practices guide young children in building peer relationships. When children get along and know how to control their impulses, every student in the classroom enjoys uninterrupted learning.
- Brain development: In the first few years of life, the brain builds 1 million new neural connections every minute. Skilled caregivers deliver positive interactions and experiences that hardwire these connections and create the foundation for a lifetime of learning.
- Early literacy development: No matter their family income, children who attend high-quality, publicly funded pre-K meet expected reading benchmarks by the time they finish third grade.
Fortunately, Pennsylvania lawmakers have long supported investments in early learning. Kindergarten teachers statewide, including me, thank them for their votes in June to approve $30 million more for pre-K in the 2019-20 state budget.
However, more needs to be done. In York County, 77 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds eligible for publicly funded pre-K don’t have access.
Children can’t wait. Every year of delay leaves another cohort of children behind their peers in academics and social skills. Continued support from our state policymakers in Harrisburg is our best chance to prepare every child for success in kindergarten and in life. I can’t wait for the day when people ask if every child in my classroom is thriving because they’ve all had high-quality pre-K, and I can say YES!
— Ruthie Mohney is a kindergarten teacher in Northeastern School District.
See the oped here.
