Observer-Reporter: Editorial: Education Funding is Crime Fighting, Too
Debate in Harrisburg will soon begin in earnest to adopt a state budget for fiscal year 2015-16, and education funding will be front and center.
Among the proposals being sought by Gov. Tom Wolf is increased funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, an initiative that recently attracted outspoken support from some unusual kindergarten bedfellows: The law enforcement community.
District Attorneys Risa Ferman, Montgomery County; Seth Williams, Philadelphia; Jack Whelan, Delaware County; and Tom Hogan, Chester County, held a press conference April 29 to introduce a report, “We’re the Guys You Pay Later,” by the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids coalition. The report makes the case that more money is spent on jailing adult defendants than on investing in education for children. That early investment can be shown, the report argues, to change the path for at-risk children from potential criminals to productive members of society.
Looking to early education to prevent crime is gaining traction nationwide. According to the report, children who participated in high-quality preschool and parent coaching programs through Chicago’s Child-Parent Centers were found to be 20 percent less likely to be arrested or incarcerated for a felony as young adults than those who did not attend.
The benefits are evident on families as well as the enrolled children, the report states. The Chicago CPC program cut child abuse and neglect in half for the children served, compared to similar children from families not being helped.
In place since 1989, state Pre-K Counts funding has made possible early education slots for 160 children in profit and nonprofit childcare centers who have partnered with the district to ensure quality instruction, qualified teachers and a seamless integration with the district’s curriculum, PEAK Coordinator Mary Reick told Pennsylvania first lady Francis Wolf during a recent visit.
A recent grant from the Kellogg Foundation is also allowing PEAK to reach out to families as early as when children are born and to help with their needs as parents during Literacy Nights and other outreach efforts.
The study emphasizes the importance of getting to children early in life with learning opportunities. Studies have shown that in homes where parents are poor or uneducated, the vocabulary to which children are exposed differs by as much as 30 million words from the vocabulary in a home of educated, professional parents. Early education works to close some of that gap.
Gov. Wolf’s proposed budget calls for increasing funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts by $100 million, which will double the commonwealth’s current annual investment of $97.3 million.
Read the full editorial here.
Lancaster Online: Op-Ed: Fund Quality Pre-K in PA for Sake of National Security
Posted: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 6:00 am
DENNIS L. BENCHOFF|SPECIAL TO LNP
When we marvel at precision-guided munitions hitting a small target from miles or even hundreds of miles away, we should note that somewhere in that chain of events are highly skilled soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines who made it happen. Just as civilian employment has become increasingly high-tech, so too has military service.
That message was the focus of a recent visit to Philadelphia by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, who highlighted the troubling reality that far too few of America’s young adults now have the skills and attributes necessary for military service. He warned that with the retirement of many highly skilled service members, the nation faces a challenge in recruiting people with the high-tech abilities needed in the 21st- century armed forces.
The disturbing fact is that 72 percent of today’s young Pennsylvanians are not eligible for military service because they are too poorly educated, medically or physically unfit, or have disqualifying criminal records. These shortfalls will continue to undermine the military’s efforts to recruit high-quality individuals.
In the end, this capability gap among our youth threatens both national security and economic prosperity.
For this reason, more than 500 of my fellow retired generals, admirals and other senior military leaders have become members of Mission: Readiness — Military Leaders for Kids, in order to support targeted investments to help young Americans grow up to be educated, healthy, and fit to ensure our defense and to succeed in life.
Fortunately, this key issue is gaining traction in Harrisburg as lawmakers discuss the adequacy and effectiveness of our public education system that is in large part responsible for producing the human capital we need. Among the proposals being considered is a historic expansion of Pennsylvania’s high-quality early learning programs.
Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed increasing state funding for high-quality pre-K by $120 million; this would provide access for an additional 14,000 children.
As I maintained last week at a legislative breakfast in Lancaster, decades of research have shown this would be a sound use of taxpayer dollars.
Front-loading our education system with high-quality pre-K and other early learning programs can better prepare our children by boosting graduation rates, deterring youth from crime, and reducing obesity rates — all while providing a strong return on investment.
Read the entire op-ed here.
York Dispatch: York’s Local and State Leaders Advocate Pre-K Expansion, But Argue Cost
By Jessica Schladebeck
York County’s local and state leaders seem to agree that early education is a key to reducing future taxpayer expenses, including incarceration, but some are skeptical that Yorker Gov. Tom Wolf will get the increased investment he outlined for the coming year’s budget.
An initiative to expand early learning programs, spearheaded by Pre-K for PA, brought together teachers, advocates and state leaders Friday at West Manchester Township’s Wyndham Garden Hotel to discuss the benefit and the necessity of pre-k for Pennsylvania.
Wolf has proposed an additional $120 million for pre-k programs. And though local officials might support expansion, at least one said it’s unlikely the Democratic governor’s request will make it into the final state budget.
“As a supporter of pre-k, I have to be blunt for you: You’re not going to get the $120 million. The financial support just isn’t there for it yet,” said Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township, noting that he does believe there will still be some additional funding for K-12 as well as early education programs.
“There is a commitment from Democrats, Republicans and our governor to keep these programs growing,” he said. “Right now, it’s just a question of how much we’ll be able to get.”
Every dollar invested in early education will generate $1.79 in immediate return and up to $17 in the long term, said Tom Wray, executive director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.
The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia is one of 10 partners in Pre-K for PA, an initiative advocating for every 3- and 4-year old to have high-quality pre-k.
Read the full article here.
York Daily Record: 5 Takeaways from Local and State Leaders about High-Quality Pre-K in Pennsylvania
More than a dozen local and state leaders gathered for a breakfast on the topic Friday in West Manchester Township
By Dylan Segelbaum
dsegelbaum@ydr.com @dylan_segelbaum on Twitter
More than a dozen local and state leaders gathered on Friday at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in West Manchester Township to talk about the benefits of high quality pre-K, calling it essential to the future of Pennsylvania.
In front of more than 60 people, speakers discussed where Pennsylvania stands in terms of access to high-quality pre-K, how expanding it could benefit the state, and what’s involved in some of Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposals about education in his executive 2015-16 budget. The breakfast was part of the initiative Pre-K for PA. Pre-K programs prepare children for kindergarten by teaching them basic skills to help their development.
Here are five takeaways from the event:
1. Access to high quality pre-K in York County:
Robert Woods, the executive director of United Way of York County, said that locally there are 10,858 children who are ages 3 and 4. Of those, he said, only 9 percent have access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-K.
2. What is the Pre-K for PA initiative?
Steve Wray, the executive director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, said the organization is one of 10 partners in Pre-K for PA, an initiative advocating for every 3- and 4-year-old to have access to it.
“Pre-K is a smart choice,” he said. “It saves money, it builds incomes, it builds intellectual capital for the future — it builds our capacity for our state and for our regions.”
Wray outlined the goals of the campaign, which was started last year:
• Educate people about the benefits of pre-K
• Discuss the social and economic benefits
• Encourage legislators to invest more money
3. Long-term return on investments
Wray, citing data from an analysis commissioned by the league, said:
• For every $1 Pennsylvania spends on pre-K, $1.79 is created in immediate spending
• If the state provided pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds, that would generate $800 million and 28,000 jobs
• In the long term, that investment would translate into $17 in savings for every $1 spent
Read the full article here.
York Daily Record: Investing in Pre-k Really Does Cut Crime (Editorial)
Debate in Harrisburg will soon begin in earnest to adopt a state budget for fiscal year 2015-16, and education funding will be front and center.
Among the proposals being sought by Gov. Tom Wolf is increased funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, an initiative that recently attracted outspoken support from some unusual kindergarten bedfellows: the law enforcement community.
State district attorneys held a press conference April 29 to introduce a report, “We’re the Guys You Pay Later” by the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids coalition. The report makes the case that more money is spent on jailing adult defendants than on investing in education for children. That early investment can be shown, the report argues, to change the path for at-risk children from potential criminals to productive members of society.
Looking to early education to prevent crime is gaining traction nationwide. According to the report, children who participated in high-quality preschool and parent coaching programs through Chicago’s Child-Parent Centers were found to be 20 percent less likely to be arrested or incarcerated for a felony as young adults than those who did not attend.
The benefits are evident on families as well as the enrolled children, the report states. The Chicago CPC program cut child abuse and neglect in half for the children served, compared to similar children from families not being helped.
A recent grant from the Kellogg Foundation is also allowing PEAK to reach out to families as early as when children are born and to help with their needs as parents during Literacy Nights and other outreach efforts.
Read the full editorial here.
