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.
Erie Times Editorial: Why PA Needs to Invest in Pre-K
By: Sam Talarico
The path to educational success for Pennsylvania’s children begins even before the doors open on the first day of kindergarten. There is already strong agreement across partisan 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 4,200 here in Erie County. We need to improve on this sad statistic.
I am 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 I 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 that 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 million 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.
When Gov.-elect Tom Wolf announced his education transition team recently, the Leadership Council urged the newly formed team to focus on early learning as it crafts the new governor’s education policy.
In January, as the new Democratic governor and Republican-led majority in the state Legislature get to work, I hope they put partisan politics aside and 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.
SAM TALARICO is a teacher at Iroquois High School and president of the Northwest Region of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (stalarico@psea.org).
Philadephia Inquirer Op-Ed: PA Can Help Children and Save the Taxpayers Money
Rep. Todd Stephens
For the past year, working with the House Majority Policy Committee’s efforts to combat poverty, I’ve learned about the vast benefits that early-childhood education provides for Pennsylvania’s children and taxpayers.
The benefits of early childhood education include fewer special-education needs and repeated grades, higher graduation rates and earnings, and lower incarceration rates. These children enter the workforce prepared to succeed. For these reasons, education, law enforcement, military, and business leaders all support expanding access to early-education programs.
Investments in prekindergarten not only impact the child, but, in many cases, their parents as well. When parents receive quality, dependable child care, they can enter, return to, or grow in the workplace. Studies show that adults with dependable child care are viewed as 15 percent more employable, with a 40 percent to 60 percent chance of remaining in the workplace. That’s why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation strongly supports early-childhood education.
Taxpayers benefit too. The three largest cost drivers in Pennsylvania’s annual budget are education, human services, and corrections – accounting for almost 90 percent of all expenditures. Reductions in the need for the services provided by these departments would benefit all residents of the commonwealth.
Unfortunately, despite the overwhelming benefits, only 30 percent of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds have access to early-childhood education, according to the Pre-K for PA campaign. If we want to help children and taxpayers, we must look for fiscally responsible ways to expand access to these programs.
One method is “social impact financing,” which is also known as “pay for success.” This would allow private investors to provide up-front capital to expand social services that save taxpayer dollars. The approach is simple: If the program funded by private investors generates a savings for the taxpayers in the future, the investors receive a portion of the savings.
Such agreements have already been used to expand early-learning programs in Chicago and Salt Lake City. While both of those initiatives involved Goldman Sachs and J.B. Pritzker, financial institutions like Bank of America and philanthropic organizations like the Rockefeller Foundation are using this approach to expand access to government programs across the United States and in the United Kingdom.
Social-impact-financing agreements expand social programs without additional taxpayer funding, in addition to providing accountability. If the program is successful, the taxpayers save through future cost reductions; if the program is unsuccessful, the private investors bear the risk.
I have been laying the groundwork to initiate a pay-for-success program, targeted to expanding early-childhood education, in Pennsylvania, and will introduce legislation to accomplish this goal soon.
Recognizing our state’s budget constraints, this approach to expanding access to early learning would not only be timely, but it would be fiscally responsible, allowing private-sector investors to invest in programs for our children that save taxpayer dollars down the road.
Let’s provide children and taxpayers with a win-win by implementing a social-impact-financing program to expand prekindergarten in Pennsylvania. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the new administration to accomplish this goal.
State Rep. Todd Stephens (R., Montgomery) represents the 151st District. tstephen@pahousegop.com
New Pa. Leaders Should Invest in Prekindergarten
By Carl M. Buchholz
The path to educational success for children begins even before the doors open on the first day of kindergarten. There is already strong agreement across partisan and geographic lines that expanding access to high-quality prekindergarten 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 pre-K as an effective tool to improve school readiness. Law-enforcement officials see it as a strategy to help at-risk youths avoid the criminal justice system. Business leaders know quality pre-K is a smart investment with proven benefits.
Despite all of this support, only one in six of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds benefit from publicly funded pre-K, leaving more than 200,000 young learners missing out statewide, including 27,401 in Philadelphia. We need to improve on this sad statistic.
If we want to build a stronger Pennsylvania, increased access to pre-K must be a building block for that foundation. That’s why I have joined the statewide Pre-K for PA Leadership Council, which is made up of more than 100 leading voices in business, education, law enforcement, civic engagement, and even the military who recognize the many benefits of high-quality pre-K. The nonpartisan organization is working to make pre-K accessible to every 3- and 4-year-old in the state.
Pre-K is an educational, moral, and societal imperative essential to our economic success. A fiscal analysis by the Leadership Council found that 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.
As support for this 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 reelected 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.
When Gov.-Elect Tom Wolf announced his education transition cochairs recently, the Leadership Council urged the newly formed team to focus on early learning as it crafts an education policy.
When the new Democratic governor and Republican-led majority in the state legislature return to Harrisburg in January, I hope they will put partisan politics aside and work together to ensure an investment in 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.
Carl M. Buchholz is a board member and public policy committee chair of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.
Military strengthened by early learning
BY DAVID W. KUNKEL AND THOMAS J. WILSON III
Centre Daily Times Op-Ed
November 10, 2014
On this Veterans Day, we honor the fewer than 1 percent of Americans who are ready, willing and able to serve our nation in the armed forces.
This figure may be surprising to some, but it is better understood when you consider that 72 percent of today’s young Pennsylvanians are not eligible for military service because they lack adequate education, are medically or physically unfit or have disqualifying criminal records.
This shocking reality is concerning because it undermines the military’s efforts to recruit high-quality individuals.
We must strategically invest to help young Americans grow up to be educated, healthy and fit to do the work of our nation — as soldiers or civilians.
While trends in education reform come and go, decades of research have shown that high-quality pre-K programs can help to better prepare our children by boosting graduation rates, deterring youth from crime and even reducing obesity rates, all while providing a significant return on investment.
Recognizing the tremendous benefits of early education, the armed forces have developed and invested in exemplary prekindergarten programs.
These high-quality programs emphasize school readiness and are part of a larger comprehensive early-care and education system that all active-duty military families have voluntary access to.
This system has been recognized as a model for the nation in terms of quality and access.
Through the actions of Republicans and Democrats, Pennsylvania has made progress in recent years by expanding funding for high-quality early-learning programs such as Pre-K Counts and Head Start.
Unfortunately, access to these high-quality early-learning programs remains very limited. More than 200,000 — 70 percent — of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds do not have access.
We urge Gov.-elect Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled General Assembly to work together and follow the military’s lead to enact a multi-year funding plan that better ensures voluntarily access to high-quality pre-K for all of the commonwealth’s 3- and 4-year-olds — starting with the children most in need.
The knowledge and skill base demanded of the young people who join the armed services is great. High-quality pre-kindergarten plays a critical role in ensuring that our next generation is academically fit and citizen ready.
Increasing access to Pennsylvania’s high-quality pre-kindergarten programs is not just an essential investment in a 21st century education system — it is also an essential investment in our future national security.
Rear Admiral David W. Kunkel, U.S. Coast Guard (retired) and Rear Admiral Thomas J. “T.J.” Wilson III, U.S. Navy (retired) are members of Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan national security organization of retired senior military officials that works to reverse the high percentage of American youth who are ineligible for military service.
It helps kids, fights crime, and strengthens the military, so let’s have more of it: Editorial
by the PennLive/ Patriot-News editorial board, September 21, 2014
“Nearly everybody in this country thinks government should do what it can to reduce crime.
“Nearly everybody thinks our country should have a strong military whose ranks are well-trained and professional.
“And absolutely everybody believes all children should be able to get a good education.
“If government could do one thing that would help advance all three of those goals, it should be a no-brainer.
“And that explains why there is such widespread support for making more children have access to a high-quality pre-kindergarten education — especially disadvantaged children.”
Read the full editorial at:
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2014/09/pennsylvania_should_embrace_un.html
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