Citizens’ Voice: Letter to the Editor: United Way Advocating for Early Learning through Success by Six Initiative
Dear Editor,
The path to educational success for Pennsylvania’s children begins even before the doors open on the first day of kindergarten. That is why the United Way has been advocating for early learning through our Success by Six initiative. There is already strong agreement across party and geographic lines that expanding access to high-quality Pre-K is a smart, cost-effective way to ensure all children enter school ready to learn, now the time has come for action.
Parents and educators see high-quality Pre-K as an effective tool to improve school readiness and long-term student success. Law enforcement officials see it as a strategy to help at-risk youth avoid the criminal justice system. Business leaders see evidence of the proven benefits and know quality pre-k is a smart investment.
And yet, despite all of this support, only 1 in 6 of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds benefit from publicly funded, high-quality Pre-K, leaving more than 200,000 young learners missing out statewide, including more than 13,000 here in NEPA. We need to improve on this sad statistic.
We are among those who believe if we want to build a stronger Pennsylvania, increased access to high-quality Pre-K must be a building block for that foundation. That’s why we have joined the statewide Pre-K for PA Leadership Council made up of more than 100 leading voices in Pennsylvania business, education, law enforcement, civic engagement and even the military, all of whom recognize the many benefits of high-quality Pre-K. Pre-K for PA is a nonpartisan, issue-focused campaign that is working to make high-quality Pre-K accessible to every 3- and 4-year-old in the state.
High-quality Pre-K is an educational, moral and societal imperative essential to our economic success. A fiscal analysis found if Pennsylvania funded pre-k for all 3- and 4-year olds, the commonwealth’s investment would generate $800 million in additional goods and services and create nearly 28,000 jobs statewide in the short term. The long-term benefits are even greater, with every dollar invested in pre-k returning up to $17 in savings and benefits to the commonwealth.
As support for Pre-K for PA’s vision grows in this region and in communities across Pennsylvania, it is encouraging to see that so many of the state’s newly elected and re-elected leaders are committed to strengthening our schools and early learning facilities as a way to elevate our workforce and communities. Now that commitment needs to turn into action.
With a new democratic Governor and Republican-led majority in the state legislature getting to work on the 2015-16 budget, we hope they work together to ensure an investment in high-quality Pre-K is at the top of Pennsylvania’s priorities. We know it’s a smart investment that pays off for every Pennsylvanian, and we can’t defer such an important investment any longer.
Bill Jones, President and CEO, United Way of Wyoming Valley.
Gary Drapek, President and CEO, United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties.
Pat Ward, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Hazleton.
Click here to read the Letter to the Editor on the Citizens’ Voice site.
Times Leader: Letter to the Editor: Ensure Pre-Kindergarten Programs among State’s top Priorities, say United Way Chiefs
By: Bill Jones, President and CEO United Way of Wyoming Valley
Gary Drapek, President and CEO United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties
Pat Ward, President and CEO United Way of Greater Hazelton
The path to educational success for Pennsylvania’s children begins even before the doors open on the first day of kindergarten.
That is why the United Way has been advocating for early learning through our Success by Six initiative. There is already strong agreement across party and geographic lines that expanding access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs is a smart, cost-effective way to ensure all children enter school ready to learn; now the time has come for action.
Parents and educators see high-quality pre-k as an effective tool to improve school readiness and long-term student success. Law enforcement officials see it as a strategy to help at-risk youth avoid the criminal justice system. Business leaders see evidence of the proven benefits and know quality pre-k is a smart investment.
And yet, despite all of this support, only one in six of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds benefits from publicly funded, high-quality pre-k, leaving more than 200,000 young learners missing out statewide, including more than 13,000 here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We need to improve on this sad statistic.
We are among those who believe if we want to build a stronger Pennsylvania, increased access to high-quality pre-k must be a building block for that foundation. That’s why we have joined the statewide Pre-K for PA Leadership Council made up of more than 100 leading voices in Pennsylvania business, education, law enforcement, civic engagement and even the military, all of whom recognize the many benefits of high-quality pre-k.
“Pre-K for PA” is a nonpartisan, issue-focused campaign that is working to make high-quality pre-k accessible to every 3- and 4-year-old in the state.
High-quality pre-k is an educational, moral and societal imperative essential to our economic success. A fiscal analysis found if Pennsylvania funded pre-k for all 3- and 4-year-olds, the commonwealth’s investment would generate $800 million in additional goods and services and create nearly 28,000 jobs statewide in the short term. The long-term benefits are even greater, with every dollar invested in pre-k returning up to $17 in savings and benefits to the commonwealth.
As support for Pre-K for PA’s vision grows in this region and in communities across Pennsylvania, it is encouraging to see that so many of the state’s newly elected and re-elected leaders are committed to strengthening our schools and early learning facilities as a way to elevate our workforce and communities. Now that commitment needs to turn into action.
With a new Democratic governor and Republican-led majority in the state Legislature getting to work on the 2015-16 budget, we hope they work together to ensure an investment in high-quality pre-k is at the top of Pennsylvania’s priorities. We know it’s a smart investment that pays off for every Pennsylvanian, and we can’t defer such an important investment any longer.
Click here to read the Letter to the Editor on the Times Leader site.
Pre-K Teams Up with Rep. Adolph and The Cat in the Hat in Celebration of ‘Read Across America’
Capitol Caravan Rolls in From Pittsburgh
HARRISBURG (March 2, 2015)– Pre-K for PA teamed up today with Rep. William Adolph and Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat to celebrate the sixteenth annual National Education Association’s (NEA) Read Across America Day.
In celebration, Rep. William Adolph joined The Cat in the Hat in reading Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham in the Capitol Rotunda to a group of preschool students from Harrisburg’s Hansel & Gretel Early Learning Center.
“An early love of reading is one of the most important qualities we can impress upon our young learners,” said Rep. Adolph. “Preschoolers, in particular, have the most to gain from being read to both at home and at school. There’s no better way to help a 3- or 4-year old prepare for a successful future than with a solid foundation of reading.”
Research has proven that reading to a young child is an important factor in future academic achievement and creating lifelong successful readers. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, children who are read to frequently are more likely to count to 20 or higher, write their own names and read or pretend to read than those who were not.
Pre-K for PA supporters from partner organization Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) hit the halls of the Capitol today to kick off a three-day Capitol Caravan. As part of the ongoing statewide Caravan effort, parents and early childhood educators deliver Pre-K for PA Education Kits to members of the legislature in support of its mission to expand access to high-quality pre-k for all of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds.
Read Across America Day, which celebrates Dr. Seuss’s birthday and the joys of reading, expects more than 45 million readers, both young and old, to pick up a book and read today.
Pre-K for PA is an issue campaign supported by individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania who believe that investing in our children is the right choice and an urgent necessity. Our vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. We will not endorse nor oppose candidates, but rather we will advocate on behalf of this vision for Pennsylvania’s children, schools and communities. For more information www.prekforpa.org.
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Patriot News Op-ed: We Need to Do All We Can to Ensure Kids Have Access to Quality Pre-K Education: Patricia Hunter
Recognizing colors and learning to play in the sandbox with others are integral components to development, but as a pre-K educator I know that there is so much more.
As executive director of Spring Garden Children’s Center in Easton, Northampton County, I have been immersed in early learning for more than 40 years.
To me, there is no doubt that an early childhood education provides students with a solid foundation for the rest of their educational career and into adulthood.
There is no greater frustration for me and my fellow educators than to see young children pass through those formative years with no access to early childhood education.
The first five years of a child’s life are crucial with 90 percent of brain development occurring. What they learn and experience during those first five years will build the foundation of their emotional, social, and educational success for the rest of their lives.
We should be doing everything we can to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality pre-k education to build that solid foundation. That’s why I support Pre-K for PA.
I believe that preschool not only prepares children for academic success – it also prepares them for social and emotional success.
And the emotional aspects have proven to be infinitely more important than just learning the ABC’s.
In my classrooms I have seen young students struggling with behavioral problems learn coping mechanisms, gain self-confidence, and develop independence. They grow to accept differences amongst their peers and learn to work as part of a team.
In the long-term, I believe that we have altered many children’s paths: curbing bullying tendencies, offering the skills to deal with anger, and providing the confidence to pursue their dreams.
I traveled to Harrisburg this week as part of the Pre-K for PA Capitol Caravan to help educate our leaders in Harrisburg about the value of access to early learning.
If I could, I would show each legislator something that happens in pre-K classrooms across Pennsylvania – a classroom full of 4-year olds working together as a team to build a giant block castle.
Seeing the cooperation, the problem solving and creativity of a young group like this is amazing.
This is an example of integrated learning through structured and free play, which provides reading, writing, science, and math experiences as well as the social and emotional building blocks.
Students gain skills needed to be successful in life and become secure in the knowledge of what is expected of them in school.
The research supporting benefits of a preschool education is staggering. Not only does the student benefit, but ultimately so does the taxpayer and the economy as a whole.
There is huge support and understanding of this important element of a child’s education, yet one in every six 3- and 4-year olds in commonwealth does not have access to a high-quality preschool.
For the sake of our children and a stronger Pennsylvania, the time has come to change that.
Patricia Hunter is the executive director of the Spring Garden Children’s Center in Easton, Pa.
Capitol Caravan Parks in Harrisburg; 253 Pre-K for PA Education Kits Delivered to Legislators
HARRISBURG (February 2, 2015)– Pre-K for PA supporters hit the halls of the Capitol today to kick off a two-day Capitol Caravan. Parents and early childhood educators delivered Pre-K for PA Education Kits to members of the legislature as part of an ongoing effort in support of Governor Wolf’s campaign commitment to expand access to high-quality pre-k for all of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds.
“I joined the Pre-K for PA campaign because I believe that when parents raise their voice together, Harrisburg listens,” said Patricia Hunter Executive Director of Spring Garden Children’s Center in Easton. “I hope that traveling to Harrisburg will send a message that there is no more urgent issue than access to quality early learning facing our legislature and Governor in the 2015-16 session.
“As an early childhood educator it breaks my heart that not all young learners get the opportunity to enter kindergarten with an equal and solid foundation,” Hunter continued.
“I am encouraged by Governor Wolf’s campaign promise to expand access to high-quality early education and hope that the legislature will work with him to accomplish this laudable goal.”
Parents and early learning educators traveling to Harrisburg were among our nearly 11,000 supporters statewide. The Pre-K for PA campaign has successfully engaged communities and citizens throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to influence the platforms of the gubernatorial and legislative campaigns. In just one year, we have gained nearly 11,000 individual supporters, 550 organizations, and over 100 civic and business leaders in our Leadership Council.
In recent years, about 53,000 Pennsylvania children benefitted from high-quality pre-k funded through state or federal sources. But that represents only about 18 percent of the nearly 300,000 3- and 4-year-olds in the state. It means about 244,000 children lack access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-k every year.
The Pre-K for PA Capitol Caravan will consist of a series of journeys from all corners of Pennsylvania to help establish Pre-K for PA as a persistent presence in Harrisburg during legislative session days.
The Pre-K for PA Campaign was launched by a statewide coalition including: Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Mission: Readiness, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, Pennsylvania Head Start Association, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, Public Citizens for Children and Youth, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.
Pre-K for PA is an issue campaign supported by individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania who believe that investing in our children is the right choice and an urgent necessity. Our vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. We will not endorse nor oppose candidates, but rather we will advocate on behalf of this vision for Pennsylvania’s children, schools and communities. For more information www.prekforpa.org.
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