Centre Daily Times: Preschool fair showcases local early education options
January 7, 2017 by Britney Milazzo
Aiden Hall will turn 3 in March.
That’s when he’ll be eligible to attend some preschools for next school year.
But his parents Carrie and Landon Hall said they don’t want to send their son to a place that is just a day care.
“If that’s the case, I would just send him to my mom’s all the time, but I want him to learn, to interact with other kids and teachers, and have that experience before he actually goes to school,” Carrie Hall said.
She said they teach the 2-year-old structure and etiquette at home, but it’s limited.
“We do as much as we can, but don’t have all the tips for the right behavior at school or at the playground when he’s among a group of others,” she said.
That’s why the Ferguson Township couple attended the annual preschool fair Saturday morning hosted by the Moms Club of State College at Mount Nittany Middle School.
Moms Club annually organizes the fair as a way to help educate local families about preschool and early childhood intervention care in the community, organizer Nicki Rusca said.
The event included 20 early childhood care programs, a majority from the Centre region.
“The process can be a little overwhelming, so the goal is to educate families on the options they have,” Rusca said. “They can narrow down what preschools they like and follow-up at the open house later.”
Some early childhood educators said preschool and early intervention is an important part of a child’s life.
At KinderCare, preschool teacher Chris Miley said preschool helps with the transition into kindergarten and helps expose children to different things.
“It plants the seed for their future,” she said. “If they stay at home with a parent, they can fall behind because they might not necessarily get the kind of exposure they would when they’re in a preschool setting.”
Miley said preschool exposes children to social, emotional and physical traits, but also exposes them to sicknesses, which could be a good thing.
“It can help build their immune system,” she said.
At KinderCare, preschool is available to children ages 3 to 5. It’s a paid program, but offers tuition assistance to eligible families.
The goal, Miley said, is to help the child learn basic skills that lead them to think “outside the box.”
“It’s age appropriate, but they learn things like numbers and letters and how to play with each other,” she said. “It’s play-based, but they still get educated.”
However preschool isn’t an option for everyone.
And a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit called Pre-K for PA is trying to change that by raising money and advocating for affordable, yet high quality preschool for every child in the commonwealth.
“We have had several successes this year,” spokeswoman for the central Pennsylvania area of Pre-K for PA Tracy Weaver said. “For example, we reached out to legislators, including Sen. (Jake) Corman, to advocate for increased pre-K funding. We were successful in getting the legislature to follow through in funding the increase, which ultimately made preschool available to more children.”
In 2016, Pre-K for PA was able to help expand the number of high-quality pre-K centers, made possible by the additional $25 million in funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and $5 million for Head Start in the state’s 2015-16 budget, Pre-K for PA spokeswoman Kate Philips said.
Philly.com: Commentary: Let Pa’s resolution for 2017 be expanded access to pre-k
January 3, 2017 by Pedro Ramos, Jim Cawley, and Sharmain Matlock-Turner
Resolutions – proactive measurable goals that pave the way for future success – help us launch the new year with purpose and direction.
Let’s resolve to build on the growing consensus for the wisdom of quality universal pre-K in Pennsylvania.
For our children, it’s essential to propel their path to learning through programs that lay solid foundations for achievement in education and in life.
A child’s brain is 90 percent developed by age 5. Falling behind during this critical time could mean a lifetime of having to run faster to try to catch up – or worse, never catching up.
A person who has a preschool education is less likely to drop out of high school, get arrested, repeat grades, and require remediation services. Research shows that children enrolled in pre-K programs can go on to earn incomes as much as 23 percent higher than what they’d earn had they not participated.
The benefits for our society as a whole also have been documented. Pre-K programs lead to a more competitive workforce. As such, they constitute an economic development program – the educational equal of business-tax incentives, property-tax abatements, and job-creation tax credits. A high-quality workforce is a key driver of job creation, as well as higher community earnings per capita, something that in turn enhances overall regional growth.
Pennsylvania’s lagging commitment to universal pre-K puts our population at an increasingly competitive disadvantage, even among our next-door neighbors. Nationally, Pennsylvania has dropped from number 11 to 15 for pre-K access for 3-year-olds, and ranks 30th in pre-K access for 4-year-olds. We serve only 26 percent of our 4-year-old population, compared with 35 percent in New Jersey, 42 percent in Maryland, 54 percent in New York, and 94 percent in West Virginia. Only one in six Pennsylvania young learners is enrolled in pre-K programs.
Just offering a pre-K program is not enough. The curriculum needs to be focused on the cognitive, physical, and social skills expected in today’s kindergarten, which no longer centers just on socialization.
Sadly, the amount of public funds available for pre-K in Pennsylvania provides less than 20 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds with access to high-quality programs. Since the annual cost of pre-K can rival a family’s rent or mortgage expense, on average amounting to $8,800 per year, it’s often far out of reach for children who would benefit most.
Additional funding could produce life-changing results. With $370 million in funding, pre-K would be available to the more than 47,000 3- and 4-year-olds in Pennsylvania who are at the greatest risk of academic failure. With an additional $100 million, 23,500 students in middle-income households could benefit. Those targeted investments could reach 125,000 children by 2019 – providing pre-K access to more than 40 percent of our 3- and 4-year-olds.
We simply cannot continue to withhold this opportunity for our children. As representatives of the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, we ask you to join us in resolving not to accept anything less.
Pedro Ramos is president and CEO of the Philadelphia Foundation. president@philafound.org
Jim Cawley is president and CEO of United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. jcawley@uwgpsnj.org
Sharmain Matlock-Turner is president and CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition. sharmain@uac.org
Times Leader: Report: No publicly funded pre-school for 70 percent of eligible students
December 15, 2016 by Mark Guydish
An online map released Wednesday allows anyone with a computer and internet connection to check preschool availability throughout Pennsylvania, and the news is grim locally.
According to data on the map, 70 percent of children ages 3 and 4 in Luzerne County school districts who are eligible for publicly funded preschool can’t get into a program for one simple reason: There aren’t nearly enough slots available.
The map, posted by the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children at papartnerships.maps.arcgis.com, provides data for state Senate districts, state House districts, or school districts.
In each case, it shows the number of children ages 3 and 4, the number and percent of those who are economically eligible for “high quality, publicly funded pre-k,” and the percent of those eligible but “unserved. It also shows locations of pre-k services, both publicly funded and private.
Children are eligible if family income is at or below 300 percent of federal poverty level (or $72,900 for a family of four).
A persistent proponent of early childhood education, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children repeatedly has pushed for increased state funding for programs. The map was released as part of “A Path Forward,” an effort to get Harrisburg lawmakers to increase pre-kindergarten spending by $85 million next year, providing service to another 10,000 children.
While the organization does not specify where the money would come from, it routinely cites studies saying such investments pay up to 17-fold in savings because children who get solid educational support early on are less likely to require more costly special education services later, end up in the justice system, or end up on welfare.
During a web-based presentation, Partnerships President Joan Benso said the ultimate goal is to “ensure that every child eligible for publicly funded pre-k gets the opportunity.”
Benso conceded there are problems with rapid expansion. Existing providers might need support in scaling up for a big surge in enrollment, and pay for employees generally has been flat for nearly a decade. “There has been no child care pay increase from the state since 2007 for most providers,” Benso said.
Partnerships has a suggested four-step “path forward,” with the first step being the most costly: Along with an increase of $85 million in state spending on pre-k next year, it calls for “growing the investment to an additional $340 million by 2020-21.
It calls for another $100 million by 2022-23 to begin serving children in families with incomes above the 300 percent-of-poverty threshold.
Read the full article here.
Lancaster Online: Study: Thousands of Lancaster County children eligible for free preschool aren’t getting it
December 15, 2016 by Heather Stauffer
Thousands of Lancaster County children eligible for publicly-funded preschool are not enrolled in any programs because of insufficient state funding and dearth of quality pre-K programs, a new study says.
The statewide study by the nonprofit Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children found that nearly 113,000 three- and four-year-olds across the state are eligible for publicly-funded preschool education but are missing out.
Quality pre-K education, the study said, can reduce grade repetition, special education placements, and dropout rates. Calling for greater state funding for preschool, researchers said that every $1 invested saves about $17 in the long run.
“The need is great everywhere,” said Joan Benso, CEO of the Harrisburg-based advocacy organization.
The partnership is asking Pennsylvania legislators for an additional $85 million for preschools in next year’s budget, rising to $340 million by 2020.
By contrast, this year’s budget raised preschool funding by $30 million.
In Columbia Borough School District, only 56 percent of preschoolers who qualified for high-quality publicly funded preschool received it, the report said.
In School District of Lancaster, it was only 45 percent.
In four districts — Donegal, Hempfield, Manheim Township and Ephrata — it was less than 40 percent.
And in the rest of the county’s 16 districts, it was less than 20 percent, with Elanco, where only 2 percent of eligible children received preschool education.
Local superintendents said they have been making efforts to reach children who can’t get into preschools, ranging from free videos containing educational tips to special workshops.
Brian Bliss, superintendent of Solanco School District, said it goes as far as mailing all families of three-year-olds a list of all preschool and daycare programs in the area each year.
“We have long desired to increase the number of students who access quality preschools in our area,” he said.
However, he noted the situation may be rosier than the report indicates, because the partnership counted only preschools that have gone through the state’s assessment process.
“We have a number of preschools that are excellent, but they have not gone through the steps required for the ‘high quality’ designation,” he said.
Bob Hollister, who’s serving as superintendent for both Columbia and Elanco districts this year, said this year Elanco is introducing six-week pre-K sessions at each of its elementary schools.
“It’s difficult to argue against pre-K preparation,” he said.
Andrea Heberlein is lead director of community impact for United Way of Lancaster County, which has made school readiness one of its four big goals for this decade.
“It is critical for the well-being of our children, and the entire community, to rally behind the efforts to provide quality pre-K education and ensure that by 2025 all children in Lancaster County will enter kindergarten ready to learn,” she said.
Read the article here.
York Daily Record: Most needy kids in York County aren’t getting pre-k
December 15, 2016 by Angie Mason
When children arrive for kindergarten, they come with a wide range of abilities. Some of them might know the alphabet, nearly able to read. Others might recognize only a few letters.
“It makes it challenging,” said South Western School District Supt. Barbara Rupp. “We work hard to lessen that gap.”
South Western has been meeting with area preschools for a few years to address that need, Rupp said. District educators explain what’s expected of kindergarten students and share training to help the providers better prepare kids.
South Western also changed its kindergarten registration process to help identify early those children who might need more help. The district makes home visits over the summer and takes families books. The district and its foundation also pay for a program that will deliver daily early-childhood activities to a parent’s phone or email.
A state advocacy group says there’s another way to help get those kids started right: Put more state money toward publicly funded, high quality pre-kindergarten programs.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children released a report this week looking at how many 3- and 4-year-old children who were eligible for such programs were actually enrolled in them. Statewide, the report showed 64 percent of eligible children — those who are low-income or have other special needs — did not have access to programs, and there are gaps everywhere — in rural, suburban and urban areas.
In eight school districts in York County, less than 10 percent of the 3- and 4-year olds who are eligible are actually enrolled in a program. In the South Western and Spring Grove districts, the report showed none of the eligible children were being served.
The report says high quality programs include Pre-K Counts, Head Start, school district programs and child care centers that have earned the higher spots on the Keystone Stars quality ranking system. An online map with the report shows that in many areas of York County there are few or no such programs available.
Good Shepherd Child Care in Glen Rock, which has the highest Keystone Stars rating of 4, is the only program in the Southern York County School District boundaries, according to the report. In order to earn the higher Stars rating, a certain percentage of students must be funded by public subsidies, and there are additional requirements to meet, like more education for staff.
It’s a lot more work, said director Pamela Prowell.
“But child outcomes, you can see the difference,” she said. “You’ve got kids that come to you from strong, healthy, functioning families. Then you’ve got kids that come from families that aren’t functioning, aren’t strong. That makes our jobs that much more important so when they get to public school, they’re ready.”
Shirl Quinan, who owns the Kidsville Junction centers in Stewartstown and Fawn Grove, said she thinks there are also parents who don’t want to apply for child care funding because they think it’s a handout. Her centers have 3-star ratings, and it can be costly and difficult to maintain that. At least 10 percent of the centers’ children must be funded by subsidies.
“I feel, in the bottom of my heart, it’s the right thing to do,” she said.
The York City School District has the most children eligible for free programs, nearly twice as many as Red Lion, which has the next largest population. But more children in the city, 69 percent, are being reached than in any other district.
The school district offers free pre-k in all of its buildings, some funded through Pre-K Counts and some paid for out of the district’s budget. The district has been working to expand the programs in recent years, aiming to one day reach all city children.
Other organizations in the city offer programs, too, like the YWCA York, which has Pre-K Counts and a 4-Star rated child care program. Ruby Martin, the YWCA’s chief program officer, cautioned that there is still a huge need in the city, even though things might look good on paper.
At the YWCA alone, “we have 50 kids on a waiting list for pre-k,” Martin said. “It’s a pretty significant need if we want to get kids the start that they need.”
What’s the solution?
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children says there’s a need for more state investment in early childhood programs, specifically: $85 million more in 2017-18, and $340 million more by 2020-21 to serve all eligible children.
Read the full article here.
