York Dispatch: Editorial: More Pre-k Funds Needed
October 12, 2018
Local advocates for high-quality early education recently celebrated the expansion of pre-K funding that allowed them to accommodate more children and expand programming.
An additional $25 million in funding was added to the state budget this year for early childhood education — $20 million going to PA Pre-K Counts programs and $5 million to Head Start Supplemental.
That’s a good start, but experts say much more is needed to reach all of Pennsylvania’s eligible children.
More than 200 for Pre-K Counts grants were awarded this fiscal year, and one recipient was the YWCA York, which was able to open a new pre-K classroom for 20 additional students.
That brings the YW’s program, which serves families with incomes up to 300 percent above the poverty level and provides free tuition and subsidies or scholarships for before- or after-school care, up to eight classes for children age 3 to 5.
As supporters rightly point out, high-quality early education is an investment that provides young children the solid start needed to succeed both academically and socially in school.
That increases the likelihood they’ll stay out of trouble, graduate from high school and enroll in college or join the military, leading to better career opportunities.
High-quality pre-K programs also boost local economies by eventually producing the skilled workers new businesses need.
“One of the things you read about Pre-K Counts is it prepares the children to enter the structured format of the school district,” YWCA York CEO Jean Treuthart said earlier this month at a gathering of local pre-K boosters.
“What I love seeing is not that we’re getting them ready for structure but that we’re just lighting the fire of curiosity and discovery,” she added.
Unfortunately, many more children who could benefit from a head start remain in the dark.
Read the full editorial here.
Sunbury Daily Item: Op-ed: Pre-k changes lives, saves millions of dollars
June 4, 2018 by Thomas McGinley
My father was chief of police in Centralia. Every day, when my brothers and I left the house, he would say, “What you do out there is a direct reflection on me.” We didn’t have a lot of financial stability, but we had guidance, and that was priceless.
We were lucky, especially because people who lacked similar guidance walk into state prisons every day. It was never my intent to establish a career in corrections, but after my first years as a corrections counselor, I realized I wanted to immerse myself in helping people achieve a positive course. I came to understand that the majority of inmates lacked the one thing I was blessed with — a nuclear family, and someone to teach the basics of leading a good life.
If you make bad decisions, you’re going to have a bad life. Good decisions, good life. It’s critical to capture people while they’re young to encourage good decision-making while focusing on sound, fundamental principles. A strong sense of self helps guide young men and women to make the positive choices that lead away from the roadblocks to success, like teen pregnancies, having multiple children outside of marriage, choosing negative associates, and failing to focus on educational opportunities.
It’s also imperative to learn the value of hard work while understanding that instant gratification is only temporary. Too often, I talk to inmates who don’t understand that their need for immediate reward of some sort is what landed them in their current predicament.
If we can instill positive values in children through early childhood education, that is a huge step forward. It’s a way to break the cycle that brings inmates here, because generations of problems tend to create generations of more problems. Pennsylvania incarcerates 47,000 inmates in state prisons, and we spend $43,000 a year on each one. That money is an investment in public safety and in turn works to return those individuals to our communities as productive citizens. In contrast, we spend about $8,500 a year per child, for much bigger returns.
High-quality pre-k delivers many benefits that help guide at-risk children in the right direction. Solid research shows that children from high-quality pre-k are more likely to be ready for school, not experience grade retention and graduate from high school. They are less likely to be arrested or incarcerated.
A survey of all incoming male inmates in early 2018 found that those who were suspended in elementary school had higher school dropout rates and were more likely to have been placed in a residential juvenile justice program compared to inmates who had not been suspended.
High-quality pre-k programs instill the basics of reading and math, so children aren’t already behind by the time they enter school. Just as importantly, they teach impulse control and getting along with others. They also partner with parents to teach the importance of reinforcing positive behaviors and reading together. The results add up to starting children off on the right foot, equipped to make good decisions and overcome challenges.
Read the full op-ed here.
Public Opinion: Op-Ed: Our Workforce Skills Gap
January 31, 2018
Franklin County’s economy is experiencing nearly unprecedented growth due in large part to our strategic location that is within a one-day drive of 50% of the North American population and our workforce, which is prized among employers large and small. Our growth has been such that our statistically calculated unemployment rate is 4%, which is a rate considered by most economists to represent full employment.
While our reported unemployment rate is very favorable, it is misleading. Many of our employers have vacant positions they cannot fill simply because there are not enough qualified applicants. In a recent Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry survey, more than half — 52 percent — said it is very difficult, at best, to recruit qualified job candidates, and 56 percent believe it will get worse by 2021. Only 21 percent — one in five — give the current labor force marks for job readiness of “excellent” or “good.”
Also, in that survey, more than nine employers in 10 said they look for verbal communication, reading comprehension, critical thinking, and basic math skills in their job applicants.
So, how do we close the skills gap? In the short term, it is incumbent on us to strengthen the relationship between our employers and our educational institutions to include secondary, post-secondary and our trade schools, especially the Franklin County Career and Technology Center and the newly opened Welding Training Center.
Our high-schoolers and their parents need to be better informed of the family sustaining career opportunities being offered by world-class employers right here in Franklin County. Moreover, they need to know of the post-secondary opportunities being offered at Wilson College, Penn State-Mont Alto and Shippensburg University. To that point, how many employers and current students know that Shippensburg University offers BS degrees in computer and software engineering as well as electrical, mechanical and civil engineering?
The next couple of years will require creative solutions in addressing the labor needs, but as we look to our future, the long-term solution is not as creative — it simply requires a commitment and investment in early childhood education.
We need to be better in providing access to quality pre-K education for all eligible preschool-aged children. Currently, 64 percent of eligible preschool-aged children in Pennsylvania are unable to access high quality, publicly funded pre-K due to limited state funding. Additionally, Pennsylvania is home to the widest per-pupil spending gap in the nation between wealthy and poor school districts. This shortchanges far too many schools, leading to larger classes, less personalized instruction, insufficient or outdated equipment, and cuts in academic offerings like career and technical education.
A skills gap among our workforce threatens our future economy … both here in Franklin County and across the Commonwealth. Boosting access to high quality pre-K and investing more long-term state funding through Pennsylvania’s fair education funding formula will address these inequities and help to close the skills gap ensuring a brighter economic future for all.
L. Michael Ross is president of the Franklin County Area Development Corporation.
Read the op-ed here.
The Intelligencer: Give every child a good start for learning
January 9, 2018
When I welcome kindergartners on the first day of school, I don’t see them only as little ones eager to learn. I also picture them 13 years later, attired in cap and gown, proudly accepting their hard-earned and well-deserved high school diplomas.
However, I worry that the road ahead is rocky for some of our most vulnerable children. Through no fault of their own, they have not been exposed to the tools they need to learn, and that’s why I’m speaking up for high-quality prekindergarten that prepares all children for academics even before they enter school.
For two decades, Pennsylvania leaders in government, business, law enforcement and the military have supported public investments in high-quality pre-K. Now, elementary school principals have joined the chorus. In a 2017 survey conducted by the Pennsylvania Principals Association in conjunction with the Pre-K for PA Campaign, nearly 99 percent of us agreed that publicly funded, high-quality pre-K is an important tool in preparing at-risk children for kindergarten.
This nearly unanimous show of support is remarkable but hardly surprising. As a principal, I see the difference that early learning makes. Children who have had an opportunity to attend high-quality pre-K come ready for school. They already know the basics of reading, mathematics, getting along with others, building friendships and sharing.
Unfortunately, some children who do not attend high-quality pre-K programs do not have the readiness skills needed to prepare them for standards-based curriculum instruction. Their teachers, then, are required to spend more time on classroom management and social skills rather than engaging them in meaningful learning experiences.
Many children who have not been exposed to a high-quality pre-K are at a greater risk of doing poorly in school, due to adverse circumstances. These are the students my kindergarten teachers and I lose sleep over. We strive to bring them to the same developmental and academic playing field as their classmates; but for many, time is not on their side.
High-quality pre-K helps close the learning gaps. In the years from birth to age 5, when 90 percent of brain development occurs, scientifically proven, carefully crafted enrichment prompts strong growth in the brain’s neurological pathways. Without those rich learning opportunities, the once-in-a-lifetime chance for kindergarten readiness is lost.
The evidence I see in the classroom every day validates years of research findings. Children who attend high-quality pre-K are much more likely to demonstrate age-appropriate behaviors. They grasp basic numeracy concepts and show reading readiness. They are much less likely to be retained in a grade, require remediation or receive special education services. As time goes on, they are less likely to drop out of school and more likely to graduate and pursue a postgraduate degree.
Unfortunately, too few children get to experience high-quality pre-K. Statewide, 64 percent of eligible preschool-age children miss this opportunity, and in Bucks County, it’s even worse at 76 percent. In my school district, Centennial, 92 percent of local children don’t enjoy the school-readiness benefits of publicly funded, high-quality prekindergarten.
Pennsylvania needs to do more. Building off recent growth in state funding, our commonwealth should invest another $315 million by 2022. This investment would make publicly funded, high-quality pre-K available to every eligible child and help improve affordability for middle-class parents.
I believe in the promise of every kindergartner, but it saddens me to think that some have a late start on the journey to graduation day. With high-quality pre-K, every child in Pennsylvania starts a lifetime of learning, preparing to contribute to the community and pursue their dreams.
Shawanna James-Coles is principal of Davis Elementary in Centennial School District.
PennLive: Editorial: From a voice of hard-won experience, a simple argument for early childhood education
October 16, 2017
Some things seem so obvious that it’s a wonder that they’re even a matter of debate.
We know, instinctively, for instance, that if a child is given the tools to succeed early on in life that they are more likely to stay in school, stay out of trouble and go on to become an active and contributing member of society.
And that investment begins before a child even sets foot in the classroom through access to quality and widely accessible early childhood education programs.
Yet, as a recent report by the advocacy group Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children reminds, Pennsylvania lags behind many of its neighboring states when it comes to taxpayer support for these critical programs.
The $32 billion, 2017-18 spending plan that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf allowed to lapse into law in early July without his signature increases state spending on two key programs – “Pre-K Counts” and Head Start – by $30 million from the year before.
That’s a significant amount, but it’s still less than the $75 million increase Wolf proposed in his February budget address to a joint session of the state House and Senate.
Increasing state funding to that level would provide seats for an additional 8,400 children statewide.
These state programs serve families who earn less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, according to published reports. That’s about $72,000 for a family of four, which means about two-thirds of pre-schoolers statewide are missing out on those programs, the report indicated.
This is not new territory. We’ve advocated for similar spending before, recognizing the solid data showing that children with access to such programs exhibit higher levels of proficiency in math and reading; are less likely to be held back in the primary grades and more likely to graduate from high school; need less remediation, and show a reduced need for those “individual education plans,” often formulated for struggling students.
Yet we were reminded again of the urgency for this increased spending during a recent conversation with state Corrections Secretary John E. Wetzel, a Corbett-era appointee, who has emerged as one of the more forceful advocates for these programs.
Recognizing that it’s easy for readers to be skeptical for a call for the state to spend more resources at a time when an agreement on paying for the state budget remains frustratingly elusive, we’re reproducing Wetzel’s remarks to the editorial board in full below.
We urge you to give them serious consideration:
“If you want to look at criminal justice reform, it actually has very little to do with criminal justice. We know that early childhood [education] works. But we don’t fund it because it’s cost avoidance 16 years down the road. And we’re focused on the next election.
“We know, for instance, that a black kid who drops out of school has a 73 percent chance of being incarcerated down the road. If we don’t do this, it’s a lack of courage on our part.
“It’s frustrating – and I don’t want to single out Philadelphia here – but it’s frustrating, at the back end of the system, talking to inmates, and there’s the kid who graduated from the Philadelphia schools can’t read Education is the answer. And we know that kids who grow up in poverty and gang-ridden areas experience trauma. And that has an impact on brain development. But we know we can undo it [that trauma].
“If we ever have the guts to fund this stuff – the implications for the next generation are huge. People would say they couldn’t believe we had that many people locked up … It’s just common sense to me.”
If you don’t want to listen to a newspaper editorial board. If you don’t want to listen to policy-makers or advocates, then listen to John E. Wetzel.
He’s the guy responsible for cleaning up society’s mess; for dealing with the worst of our worst and then finding a way to rehabilitate some of them.
Imagine, for a moment, how much better our society would be if there were less of that. Then imagine, for a moment, that there was a simple way to do that.
And that you could prevent it, years beforehand, from ever happening in the first place.
Wouldn’t that be worthwhile?
Read the editorial here.
Lancaster Online: Editorial: We need more support and funding for pre-kindergarten programs in Lancaster County
October 12, 2017
Four-fifths of eligible Lancaster County children don’t attend high-quality, publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs, according to a new report produced by the Pennsylvania Principals Association in partnership with the Pre-K for PA Campaign. As LNP staff writer Alex Geli reported last week, the study reveals that most at-risk students — those from low-income households — are missing out on critical pre-K opportunities. That’s despite near-unanimous support of pre-K services among elementary school principals, Geli noted.
Perhaps, like preschool learning itself, this requires repetition: Children from low-income families who aren’t afforded the same advantages as other kids need high-quality pre-K.
We’ve said it repeatedly. Local educators have said it repeatedly. Local military leaders, Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman, United Way of Lancaster County officials, the Mayor’s Commission to Combat Poverty … all have said it repeatedly.
And still, we’re doing an abysmal job of providing high-quality pre-K to the children in Lancaster County who need it the most.
Eighty percent of eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in Lancaster County are not enrolled in a high-quality pre-K program.
That means just 20 percent — or 1 in 5 children — are getting the early education they need.
Statewide, 36 percent of eligible children are enrolled, but even that number is quite low.
Ninety-nine percent of the 1,300 principals surveyed said high-quality pre-K was an important tool for preparing children for kindergarten, especially children who are at-risk of falling behind. (We’re not sure which principals were among the 1 percent, but we’d advise them to do some reading on the subject.)
As Geli reported, Elizabeth R. Martin School Principal Barbara Andrews was among those surveyed. She said she sees in her school’s students the enduring benefits of high-quality pre-K. “It provides a foundation which enables these children to be confident and successful in their journey through school and in their personal lives as well.”
The School District of Lancaster is one of the largest pre-K providers in the county, Geli reported.
Several Lancaster County school districts, such as Pequea Valley, Conestoga Valley, Cocalico and Manheim Township, partner with third parties to offer publicly funded pre-K programs.
But most county school districts don’t offer pre-K programs. We’d ask them to consider doing so.
We know school districts already are overburdened by the demands placed on them by the state and by school populations with ever-expanding needs. But this is a matter of paying now or paying later.
According to the Pre-K for PA website, longitudinal “research studies indicate that as much as $17 is returned on every $1 invested in high-quality early learning programs.”
Starting a preschooler off on the right track is much easier — and much less costly — than trying to get him back on track when he’s in high school.
For school districts to be able to offer prekindergarten, the state needs to make greater investments in early education. More money has gone into early learning in the two most recent state budgets, but access to high quality pre-K remains limited.
The children’s advocates and educators who produced this new report want to see an additional $85 million invested in prekindergarten this fiscal year.
The 2017-18 spending plan approved by the General Assembly and allowed to become law by Gov. Tom Wolf added only $30 million to Pennsylvania’s Pre-K Counts early childhood education program and Head Start.
They would like that investment to grow to an additional $310 million by fiscal year 2020-21 to serve all the low-income children now eligible for publicly funded pre-K.
And then they’d like to see an additional investment of $100 million by 2022-23 to help middle-class families afford high-quality pre-K.
It seems like a tall order, meeting the needs of our littlest Pennsylvanians. But this is a vital task.
We can imagine some of you saying, “Well, I didn’t go to preschool, and I turned out just fine.” To that, we’d say you’re lucky, and we’re truly glad for you.
But research has shown that kids whose vocabularies and experiences don’t match those of their classmates risk falling behind. And once they fall behind, they generally need more expensive remedial instruction and special education services. Often, these children never catch up, which presents problems when they enter the workforce.
The better, more economical path is to pay for quality preschool. We’ll keep pushing this for as long as needed.
Read the editorial here.
