Early Childhood Action Day Draws Advocates Rallying for Pre-K; Gov. Wolf Addresses Energetic Crowd
New National Report Shows PA Failing to Make Gains in Pre-k Access
Harrisburg, PA – Pre-K for PA supporters and early childhood advocates from across the state gathered in Harrisburg today for the annual Early Childhood Action Day. Gov. Tom Wolf and Acting Human Services Secretary Ted Dallas led a special kickoff event in the Forum Auditorium in the morning, followed by an afternoon rally in the Capitol Rotunda.
“I’m proud to welcome the over 200 pre-k and early childhood education advocates to the Capitol today that are here to encourage the General Assembly to meet the need for more high-quality early education programs for thousands of children across the Commonwealth,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “I value the support of the strong Pre-K for PA coalition for my budget, which makes historic and significant investments in early childhood education. My proposed $120 million increase in high-quality early childhood education is projected to create 14,000 new slots for children to enroll in early childhood education – growing enrollment by 75 percent.”
Gov. Wolf has proposed increasing state funding for high-quality pre-k by $120 million in the coming fiscal year so about 14,000 more Pennsylvania 3- and 4-year-olds can benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity.
“Over the past year and a half, Pre-K for PA has been leading the push for expansion alongside the thousands of early childhood advocates who have been fighting for kids’ access to early learning for so many years,” said Jodi Askins, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC), a founding partner in the Pre-K for PA campaign.
“We are encouraged by the governor’s proposal and enthusiastic support of individual legislators from across the state, but urge action in this budget year. Each year that passes without a substantial commitment to early childhood education, another group of young learners is missing the crucial elements of development only a young mind can experience.”
A new report out Monday from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) shows Pennsylvania is failing to make any notable progress on expanding pre-k access. NIEER’s latest “State of Preschool” report shows:
- Pennsylvania dropped to 15th in the nation in pre-k access for 3-year olds in 2013-14, down from 14th the prior year.
- Pennsylvania remains stuck at 30th in the nation in pre-k access for 4-year olds – the same ranking we held the prior year.
The Rotunda rally included: Sen. Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster); Rep. Mark Longietti (D-Mercer); Steven Wray, Executive Director of the Economy League of Philadelphia; Michelle Figlar, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children and incoming deputy secretary for Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development & Early Learning; early childhood educators; and parents.
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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Pottstown Mercury: Editorial: Investing in Pre-K Now Saves Money Later
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.
Pottstown School District and Superintendent Jeff Sparagana have been at the forefront of the Pre-K movement, providing some of the early benchmarks for success. In place since 1989, state Pre-K Counts funding has made possible early education slots for 160 children in profit and non-profit 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.
Read the full editorial here.
Centre Daily Times: Expanded Preschool Access Crucial to Community, Centre County Leaders Say
STATE COLLEGE — Pushing investment in early education, county leaders and organizations met Friday to discuss the community benefits of expanding access to preschool.
Sen. Jake Corman, R-Benner Township, State College police Chief Tom King, Rear Adm. (Ret.) Thomas Wilson and Nittany Kiwanis Club President Bill Franz gathered at St. Paul’s Christian Preschool and Childcare to stress the importance of quality Pre-K programs.
The event was hosted by Pre-K for Pa., a non-partisan campaign seeking to ensure that all 3- and 4-year-olds in the state have access to high-quality preschool by 2018.
Pre-K for Pa. is made up of several organizations, including Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and Mission: Readiness – Military leaders for Kids, who have banded together to renew the push for better Pre-K schooling.
King, who is a member of the Fight Crime initiative, said he is a big believer in preschool.
“A lot of law enforcement is prevention,” he said. “This is a whole different area of prevention that’s important.”
When a child drops out of high school, he said, the likelihood of being arrested skyrockets. Establishing a good education early helps prevent these dropouts from occurring. Also, he said he’s willing to look at anything that can help reduce the cost of corrections.
Even though prison populations didn’t change, the prison system is spending $150 million more this year than last, Corman said.
Read more here.
The Unionville Times: Hogan, Area DAs Push for Pre-K to Cut Crime
KING OF PRUSSIA – Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan and other Southeast Pennsylvania prosecutors came out strong this week to support an initiative to Gov. Tom Wolf to fund pre-kindergarten programs as a long-term way to boost high school graduation and cut crime in the commonwealth.
Hogan and the other southeast region district attorneys who are members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids participated in a regional Pre-K for PA legislative breakfast Wednesday to release a new report – We’re the Guys You Pay Later – documenting how Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed $120 million state funding increase for high-quality pre-kindergarten programs could boost high school graduation rates, reduce the number of people who are incarcerated in Pennsylvania and lead to more than $350 million annually in Corrections and other cost savings to society over the lifetimes of the children served.
Delaware County District Attorney John J. Whelan, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, and Philadelphia District Attorney R. Seth Williams joined Hogan to participate in a panel discussion that focused on research documenting the impact of high-quality early childhood programs on educational and life outcomes for at-risk children and the resulting crime reduction.
Read the entire article here.
Pottstown Mercury: Area D.A.s Tout the Importance of Early-Education Programs to Prevent Crime
UPPER MERION – Spending money on pre-kindergarten programs now will inevitably save the taxpayers of Pennsylvania money in the long run when they are not paying as much to lock up criminals, according to a report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.
To drive that point home on Wednesday, District Attorneys Risa Ferman of Montgomery County, Seth Williams of Philadelphia, Jack Whelan of Delaware County, and Tom Hogan of Chester County, joined each other on stage at the Double Tree Hotel in King of Prussia to introduce the report dubbed “We’re the Guys You Pay Later.”
In short, the report states that much more money is spent on prosecuting defendants and locking them up in the county jails and state prisons than is spent on investing in education for children before Kindergarten.
“Pennsylvania jails are full of people serving time for serious and costly crimes. It doesn’t have to be that way – providing at-risk kids with high-quality early learning programs can reduce the costs and impact of crime in the future,” the report states.
Ferman said sending her three children to a high-quality preschool when they were younger sent them on the right path in life and society’s problems cannot be fixed by arresting people.
“Public safety is our primary concern as prosecutors and you know that we do that job and we lock people up when we need to. But what we know, perhaps more than anyone, is that we cannot arrest and prosecute our way out of the crime problem that we have. We have to look deeper,” Ferman said.
The report boasts that an investment in early childhood education now can save Pennsylvania taxpayers a total of $350 million in the future. Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget seeks to increase early childhood education funding by $120 million. That increase, according to the report, would allow for 14,200 additional children to take part in state-funded pre-k programs.
To read the entire article, click here.
