York Daily Record: Op-Ed: Early Childhood Education: An Investment Worth Making
May 17, 2017 by Rep. Carol Hill-Evans
Decades of research have shown the significant ways a child’s brain develops in the early years – long before kindergarten. A child’s brain capacity is said to be 90 percent developed before the child turns 5.
Those years present a valuable opportunity that we can’t afford to waste.
But unfortunately, not every child in Pennsylvania – or York County – is getting to make the most of that critical time.
A 2015 report from the National Institute for Early Education Research showed neighboring states – New York, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia – are all reaching more 4-year-olds with pre-K than we are here in Pennsylvania.
Data from the Pre-K for PA campaign shows that across Pennsylvania, about 69 percent of children who are eligible for publicly funded, high quality pre-kindergarten are not getting it.
And in York County, that number is higher. About 80 percent of eligible children in our county – children who are low-income or have other special needs – do not have access to these programs.
That’s 4,380 local children who are missing a vital opportunity that could put them on the path toward educational success.
We at the state level have to do our part to help correct that.
That is why I support Gov. Tom Wolf’s efforts to increase funding for early childhood education and make sure we are getting more children off to a good start.
For 2017-18, Wolf has proposed a $75 million increase for Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs. If you couple that with the $60 million in additional funding that the governor has been able to secure in the past two years, it would mean more than 8,400 additional children are able to enroll in those programs.
That’s 8,400 more children who would be put on a path more likely to lead to success in later grades and graduation.
The evidence on the benefits of pre-K is overwhelming. It reduces the need for remedial instruction, grade repetition and special education services later in a child’s life. It leads to increased graduation rates and college and technical school enrollment.
Some examples:
- A study in Michigan showed children who went to pre-K did better on fourth-grade math and literacy tests than students who did not have pre-K. They were also 35 percent less likely to repeat a grade.
- Research in Pittsburgh Public Schools found that providing early intervention services in pre-K eliminated the need for special education services for 42 percent of children in kindergarten.
- And a New Jersey analysis found children attending pre-K for one year were 30 percent less likely to repeat a grade. That percentage grew to 50 percent for children enrolled for two years.
There are many organizations in our community working to bring these valuable programs to our youngest learners.
The York City School District has been working to expand its pre-kindergarten programs in recent years, counting on it as a way to help better prepare students for their K-12 years. And York is lucky to have a number of other high quality options available.
But they need more support. Including the increases proposed by the governor in next year’s budget would make it easier to expand these high-impact programs and help us put more York and Pennsylvania children on the road to bright educational futures.
A few weeks ago, I sponsored a resolution in the House to mark the “Week of the Young Child” in Pennsylvania, because I believe that a child’s early years are critical to future success.
For that same reason, I’ll keep fighting for increased funding for high quality programs for our youngest learners.
The Republican budget that has passed the House and been forwarded to the Senate – a budget crafted without Democratic input or support – would dramatically reduce the early learning funding increases proposed by Wolf. It is my hope that we’ll be able to find a way to put those increases back in a final budget.
It’s good for our children, and it’s good for Pennsylvania.
Rep. Carol Hill-Evans is a Democrat from York City.
Sunbury Daily Item: Editorial: Pre-k Puts Kids in Better Place
May 15, 2017
Lawmakers often say they are working to make the world a better place for our children.
If that’s the case, members of the state Legislature should take a close look at a proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf to boost pre-kindergarten funding by $75 million in the next state budget.
“Early childhood education is one of the most effective interventions we can make in the lives of our children,” the governor said. “It is proven that children who participate in high quality pre-K perform better in school later on. They graduate at higher rates, they learn more now, and they earn more later. Good early childhood education levels the playing field for high- and low-income students.”
In Wolf’s first two years in office, the state has increased spending on early childhood education by $60 million, to $147 million for pre-K and $49 million for Head Start. The additional $75 million proposed by Wolf would allow the program to add about 8,400 children, the governor’s office estimated.
A budget passed by the state House would boost spending on early childhood education, but it provides $50 million less than the Wolf proposal.
A spokesman for House Republicans said this week that GOP lawmakers are not convinced that preschools would be ready to ramp up quickly enough to effectively use the the boost in spending.
But others point out that Pennsylvania is lagging behind because the state does not spend as much on early childhood education as many other states. On a per-capita basis, New Jersey spends about $3,000 on early childhood education — four times as much as Pennsylvania does, according to Joan Benso, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed, a Republican, said its a good investment. About half of the inmates in Pennsylvania’s prison system dropped out of school, he noted.
“That’s the reason so many in law enforcement support this,” Freed said. “Studies show the programs work.”
It’s good advice for all of those looking to make Pennsylvania a better place for our children.
Sharon Herald: Wolf pushes for more early childhood education funding
May 9, 2017 by John Finnerty
HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf was joined by advocates for early childhood education Monday to defend his plan to boost Pre-K funding by $75 million.
Wolf’s budget proposals include $2 billion in cuts where he thinks the state government can manage them. But, he stressed Monday, he thinks the state needs to target increased spending in some areas, including early childhood education.
“It is proven that children who participate in high quality Pre-K perform better in school later on,” Wolf said. “They graduate at higher rates, they learn more now, and they earn more later. Good early childhood education levels the playing field for high- and low-income students.”
Wolf, a Democrat, said the investment pays off in the long run because the societal costs of not preparing children for school far exceed the upfront costs of preschool programs.
It was a point backed up by Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed, a Republican.
Freed said that he won’t suggest the state should increase its total budget spending, but he thinks that the government ought to put its money on efforts that are worth the investment.
About half the inmates in Pennsylvania’s prison system dropped out of school, he said.
“That’s the reason so many in law enforcement support this,” he said. “Studies show the programs work.”
In Wolf’s first two years in office, the state upped spending on early childhood education by $60 million to $147 million for Pre-K and $49 million for a Head Start program. Wolf has proposed a $75 million boost for early childhood education in the coming year.
The additional spending would allow the program to add 8,400 children, the governor’s office estimated.
A budget passed by the state House would also boost spending on early childhood education, but provides $50 million less than Wolf has proposed.
House Republican caucus spokesman Stephen Miskin said there’s a consensus at the Capitol that the state should spend more on early childhood education. Republicans aren’t sure that the amount the governor is proposing is appropriate because it’s unclear that even if the state releases $75 million in funding that preschools would be able to ramp up quickly enough.
“We felt like a measured approach is the way to go,” he said.
There are a total of just over 20,000 children already enrolled in Pre-K counts programs using state funding.
That includes children enrolled in Pre-K programs and the Head Start supplemental assistance program. The Pre-K programs include families with income of less than 300 percent of the poverty line, said Casey Smith, a spokeswoman the Department of Education. For a family of 4, that eligibility limit is about $72,900, according to Education Department guidelines. The Head Start initiative is targeted at poor families, those with incomes at or below 100 percent of the poverty line.
Pennsylvania doesn’t spend as much on early childhood education as many other states, said Joan Benso, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, an advocacy group working to boost early childhood education.
“Pennsylvania is lagging behind,” Benso said.
On a per capita basis, New Jersey spends about $3,000 on early childhood education, four times as much as Pennsylvania does, about $682, she said.
“Seventy-five million dollars is a lot,” Benso said. But, the added spending is reasonable when compared to the amount of investment being made in other states, she said. When examining nearby states with similar standards for preschool programs, all of them, except Delaware, spend more per capita on early childhood education than Pennsylvania, she said.
Benso said that while Pennsylvania lawmakers are grappling with difficult decisions in crafting the budget, they shouldn’t delay help for the state’s preschoolers.
“It’s been a long time since people around here said ‘It’s going to be an easy budget,’ “ she said. “Our preschool children don’t have time to wait for the Pennsylvania budget situation to get better. They don’t get a do-over.”
Read the article here.
Public News Service: Report: PA Needs to Invest More in Quality Pre-K
May 9, 2017 by Andrea Sears
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania is continuing to invest in quality pre-K programs for at-risk kids, but a new report says there’s still a long way to go.
According to the report, pre-K lays a solid foundation for success in school and beyond, raising graduation rates, reducing special-ed placements, decreasing crime and saving taxpayer dollars.
Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, says Pennsylvania is one of the 27 states that is investing in high-quality, publicly funded pre-K, and that investment has grown under four consecutive governors.
But, 64 percent of eligible children still are not being served.
“Other states, including our neighbors of New Jersey, Maryland, New York and West Virginia, are all doing a much greater amount of investments,” she says. “Economic competitors like North Carolina are also beating us.”
Pennsylvania ranks 20th in per capita investments in the programs.
Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed increasing state funding for pre-K by $75 million. That would make it available to an additional 8,400 three- and four-year-olds.
But, Benso points out that funding the program for the 113,000 eligible children in the state currently not being served will take an additional $340 million.
“And our hope in the Pre-K for PA campaign is that we’ll move forward in this state in making that investment by the year 2021,” she adds.
She also adds that every dollar the state invests in pre-K returns $4 in savings and benefits.
But Benso points out that the House budget, passed last month, only includes a $25-million increase in funding for it.
“We’re urging lawmakers to push that number up toward that $75 million of the governor’s, and make continued sustained investments so all of our eligible children can benefit from high-quality pre-K,” explains Benso.
Watch the video here.
CBS 21: Gov. Wolf Pushes for More Education Funding
May 8, 2017
Governor Wolf spoke out about early childhood education and his commitment to high-quality education in the Commonwealth.
The governor says he is proposing an additional $209-million dollars in education funding.
The investments would be put towards a number of programs.
The budget proposal also includes a nearly $8-million dollar increase for the 14 state owned universities.
Today Governor Wolf was also presented with the 2017 Pre-K Champion Award.
See the article and video here.
