Times-Leader: New push for increased pre-school access launched at Wilkes-Barre YMCA
January 19th, 2016
WILKES-BARRE — They came with a bag of books and asked for half a billion dollars, and while the aim was the same for both books and bucks — to help tots under age 5 get ready for school — the scope was obviously very different.
The books were doled out to a class of clamoring pre-kindergarten students at the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA, after leaders of several non-profit advocacy groups released a new report “The case for Pre-K in PA,” and called for a dramatic boost in state money for high quality pre-school programs.
United Way of Wyoming Valley President Bill Jones noted one third of Wyoming Valley’s children are in poverty, adding often-cited research shows “statistically these children are more likely to grow up having social and emotional problems, drop out of school, be less healthy and experience addictions and commit crimes.”
Jones noted the agency has shifted focus to school readiness and now spends $370,000 annually “in early care and education programs, and $395,000 in other education support services support services.” But, he added, “The United Way and our community partners simply don’t have adequate resources to reach all the children in need. We must encourage our state government to consider its investment to ensure all children benefit.”
The National Institute for Early Education Research annually ranks states that offer publicly funded pre-k by the percentage of children with access to high quality pre-k, and Jones noted in the last five years the Keystone state slipped from 11th to 15th for children age 3, and from 24th to 30th for age 4.
PA Partnerships for Children President Joan Benso put a number on what she believes the state should do: Increase pre-k money by $500 million in five years. Availability of public resources to help provide pre-k for at-risk children — low income, English language learners and those with disabilities is “woefully inadequate,” she said.
The state is at a competitive disadvantage with neighbors, Benso said, noting 94 percent of children attend high quality pre-k in West Virginia, 54 percent in New York, 42 percent in Maryland and 35 percent in New Jersey. By comparison, only 26 percent attend pre-k in Pennsylvania.
Read the full article here.
Pottstown Post: New Report Advocates More Pre-K In PA
January 19, 2016
HARRISBURG PA – Pennsylvania needs to increase its commitment to making high-quality pre-kindergarten available to at-risk children, according to a new report.
Called “The Case for Pre-K in PA,” issued by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, the report says the state is home to more than 175,000 3- and 4-year-olds in low-income households, but during 2014 about 70 percent of them lacked access to publicly funded pre-K.
Michael Race, the group’s vice president of communication, says offering high-quality pre-K has long-lasting effects. “It increases graduation rates, reduces dropouts, increases the likelihood of going on to college, and basically helps create a better workforce that benefits communities and the Commonwealth as a whole.”
The Pottstown School District been recognized by several organizations as being among Pennsylvania’s leaders in providing the kind of pre-K classes advocated in the report. The document claims that investing $470 million in pre-K over the next three years would more than double the percentage of children who have access to early-learning programs.
In Maryland, 42 percent of 4-year-olds have access to pre-K, 54 percent in New York and 94 percent in West Virginia. In Pennsylvania it’s only 26 percent, according to Race. The “Pre-K for PA” campaign, a statewide coalition, had asked for an additional $120 million for early childhood education this year. The state budget, if approved, adds an extra $30 million.
Philanthropic groups, such as United Way of Pennsylvania, also have promoted pre-K around the state. As Race points out, they can’t do it alone. “There’s only so much we can do in the private sector to make it available,” he says. “The state is the one that really has the resources to grow pre-K considerably, and that’s what we’re asking them to do.”
Read the full article here.
Post-Gazette: Report says Pennsylvania lags in pre-K education
January 18, 2016
Pennsylvania trails most neighboring states in access to publicly funded, high-quality, pre-K education, with only 1 in 6 children in the state enrolled in such a program, according to a report released last week by a Harrisburg children’s advocacy organization.
About 120,000 3- and 4-year-olds statewide, many of whom are from low-income families, are at risk of school failure because they don’t have opportunities for early childhood education, said Joan L. Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. That figure includes more than 12,500 children in Allegheny County.
“When we make this investment, we help kids, we help the communities, we help schools, we improve kids’ lives,” she said at a news conference Thursday at the Small World Early Learning & Development Center in Downtown.
The report, “The Case for Pre-K in PA,” noted that over five years, Pennsylvania dropped from 11th to 15th in the nation in pre-K access for 3-year-olds and from 24th to 30th for 4-year-olds, according to research from the National Institute for Early Education Research.
In Pennsylvania, such programs are available to 26 percent of 4-year-olds. In West Virginia, New York and Maryland, by contrast, the figures are 94 percent, 54 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
Grant Oliphant, president of The Heinz Endowments, called the foundation’s contributions to early childhood education “some of the most effective dollars that we’ve invested.”
“We can see over a 20-year time frame that those investments in kids have had a profound impact on their ability to learn and their later success in school,” he said. “That translates eventually into their success in life, their success in the workforce, their success as citizens of the commonwealth.”
Read the full article here.
Erie Times: Pre-K advocates push for more funding
By Erica Erwin
January 14, 2016
Prekindergarten advocates Thursday pushed the state to increase its commitment to making high-quality prekindergarten more accessible — and laid out a strategy to do so.
A new report, “The Case for Pre-k in PA: Smart Investment in Kids, Communities and the Commonwealth,” found that an additional investment of $370 million in high-quality pre-K over this fiscal year and the next three fiscal years would make pre-K accessible to more than 47,000 Pennsylvania 3- and 4-year-olds who are at greatest risk of academic failure.
An additional $100 million would provide high-quality pre-K to about one-fifth of 3- and 4-year-olds in middle-income households — about 23,500 children, the report by the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children found.
Taken together, a total investment of $470 million would make high-quality pre-K available to more than 40 percent of the state’s 3- and 4-year olds, compared with fewer than 20 percent who benefited in 2013.
The United Way of Erie County is one of the supporters of Erie’s Future Fund, which provides preschool scholarships to 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children estimates more than 2,400 Erie County children do not have access to high-quality pre-K.
Read the full article here.
Centre Daily Times: Local educators respond to State of the Union address
BY BRITNEY MILAZZO
January 13, 2016
It was a touching State of the Union address Tuesday night for at least one instructor at Penn State’s College of Education who said it made her proud to be an early childhood educator.
Linda Duerr said she was emotional when she saw President Barack Obama get a standing ovation when he mentioned prekindergarten should be available to all families in the country with young children.
“That’s a first,” she said. “It was the first time I have ever seen Congress stand up no matter what party, during the very brief mention to pre-K being more accessible for children. It was mindblowing for me, and gratifying.”
Obama has a vision to provide pre-K for all.
At least that’s what he said in his last State of the Union address Tuesday night when he spoke about presecondary education.
And it’s something he’s addressed the past couple of years.
But it’s also a vision that stretches beyond federal government.
A Pennsylvania-based campaign was established in 2014 to make sure every 3- and 4-year-old in the commonwealth has access to high-quality pre-K by 2018.
Pre-K for PA, according to the initiative’s website, has about 11,000 members involved in the fight to enhance preschool education.
The Pre-K for PA campaign supports an investment of $120 million in the 2015-16 fiscal year, allowing high-quality pre-K for an additional 14,000 children, a report from the initiative said.
But the fight is still there to get more pre-K or preschool programs in Centre County, especially in rural settings.
The biggest issues in pre-K are accessibility, affordability and quality, local educators said.
From educators
Some local educators said they’re seeing little effects of what Obama aimed to do, though they’re hopeful that could change.
“What needs to happen in order to get pre-K, especially in an area like Bald Eagle that doesn’t have any programs, of course, is funding,” said Jim Orichosky, Wingate Elementary School principal and district director of elementary education. “Funding is huge, and the ideal situation is that Bald Eagle, as a school district, would have its own fully funded pre-K program.”
Bald Eagle Area, according to district spokeswoman Rose Hoover, is a rural school district with about 1,670 students in four elementary schools and a combined middle and high school.
A full-day preschool program through CenClear Child Services, is, however, offered at Port Matilda and Wingate elementary schools.
Orichosky said the Philipsburg-based provider offers the program at no cost to the district. But it’s not available to all families of young children who live in the district.
“It’s income based, which I think is important, because you have families who work hard and want the best for their child, but cannot afford some programs,” Orichosky said. “On the other hand, there are other families in similar situations, but don’t meet requirements, which prevent them from sending their children to preschool.”
The CenClear preschool within the district serves 18 children, all 4 years old, Orichosky said.
“I think it’s a world education problem,” Orichosky said. “We’re not the only area. We had a lot of churches that had preschool, but they’re not functioning anymore. Our parents would have to go to Bellefonte or State College for preschool programs if they’re not eligible for CenClear. It’s inconvenient. We should be able to have a local preschool.”
Pre-K benefits
Educators think preschool should be a prerequisite for students heading into kindergarten.
And Duerr said it isn’t just about academics.
Read the full article here.
