Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Letter to the Editor: Investing in Pre-k is a Big Win for PA Children
March 22, 2019
In Gov. Tom Wolf’s recent budget 2019-2020 proposal, education was again a focus. As an elected school board member, I am glad to see our evolving understanding of the importance of funding the full continuum of high-quality early childhood education for all children. Specifically, the governor’s proposed investment of $50 million for high-quality pre-K is a big win for thousands of Pennsylvania’s youngest children.
In this current school year, Pittsburgh Public Schools was able to serve 74 additional pre-K children thanks to increases in last year’s state budget. We especially appreciated our local legislators who attended a classroom opening celebration with us, including Sen. Jay Costa, Rep. Ed Gainey and Rep. Dan Frankel.
As we look to next year’s budget, there are still over 500 income-eligible children in Pittsburgh who are missing out on the opportunity to attend high-quality pre-K. Statewide, there are nearly 98,000 children missing out. Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania must keep pushing until access reaches all at-risk children, and I hope that in this budget cycle our legislators push to continue to expand access to thousands more kids next year.
Finally, we must remember that many pre-K classrooms are located in STAR 3 and 4 child care providers, including dozens that Pittsburgh Public Schools partners with in order to meet the needs of families in our district. The proposed $50 million investment in pre-K programs should be celebrated, and we must also invest $50 million in child care as we know that learning begins long before children turn 3 years old. I am excited that the conversation around pre-K investment has elevated the focus on early learning, and I hope the legislature will invest accordingly.
LYNDA WRENN
Point Breeze The writer is the president of the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education
Pottstown Mercury: Pottstown Singled Out for Early Education Leadership
By: Evan Brandt February 10, 2019
POTTSTOWN — As the state budget season kicked off with the presentation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget, early education advocates kicked off their efforts to ensure that budget funds pre-kindergarten education.
For their setting they chose the Learning Annex building on North Franklin Street where several of the Pottstown School District’s Pre-K Counts classrooms are held.
It is an easy program to support, said Schools Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez, because “it emotionally prepares students to deal with the world, and economically, it is the best way to invest in education.”
That too was the conclusion reached in a four-page study by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia which was released during the event.
Jeff Hornstein, the executive director of the Economy League, said Pottstown was chosen as a case study because it has been on the forefront of early education since 1989 when it implement half-day Pre-K classes in all its elementary schools.
More recently, for the last 13 years, that effort has fallen under the umbrella of PEAK, Pottstown Early Action for Kingergarten Readiness, spearheaded by former schools superintendent Jeff Sparagana, who was on hand and called the effort “a unique partnership” between the school district and larger community.
“It more than life-changing work,” Sparagana said of public education. “It’s life-saving work.”
In 2007, the state jumped into the game with a program called Pre-K Counts and because of Pottstown’s existing program, provided 108 slots for low-income children. By 2015, it had grown to 220 slots and is now more than 300 full-day slots.
According to the Economy League information, “children who participated in Pre-K Counts were less likely to need intensive literacy support” in 2017.
“Research from 2016 found that children who participated in PEAK’s pre-kindergarten programs performed better than the district average on literacy assessments when they arrived in kindergarten and each subsequent year through third grade,” according to the Economy League data.
Gov. Wolf Ramps Up Pre-K Investment, Opens Opportunity to Thousands More PA Children 2019-20 State Budget proposal includes $50 million for pre-k programs
Harrisburg, PA (February 5, 2019)– Pre-K for PA marked the proposed new investment of $50 million in the 2019-20 PA budget as a big win for thousands of Pennsylvania’s youngest children. In a statement, the eleven principal partners leading the campaign to increase funding for high-quality pre-k, Pre-K for PA, issued the following statement regarding Governor Tom Wolf’s continued commitment to expanding access to pre-k in Pennsylvania:
“Governor Wolf demonstrated and amplified his commitment to expanding access to publicly funded pre-k by proposing funding to support thousands of additional young learners to attend high-quality programs.
“As we kick off our sixth year, Pre-K for PA—representing more than 25,000 individual supporters across Pennsylvania—is optimistic that the legislature will support this bi-partisan budget priority; members from both sides of the aisle have consistently supported expanding access to this valuable once-in-a-lifetime educational experience. Supporting increased funding for high-quality pre-k is a wise investment and good politics, as a recent Pre-K for PA poll showed 94 percent of Pennsylvanians agreed that early childhood education is important.
“Our celebration of the $50 million investment in pre-k programs in the 2019-20 state budget is tempered by the harsh reality that PA ranks 18thof the 30 states investing in high-quality pre-k, and with this new investment, about 100,000 eligible children still lack access.
“In Pennsylvania, publicly funded pre-k and high-quality child care are inextricably linked, with 48 percent of children enrolled in Pre-K Counts served by STAR 3 and 4 child care providers. Governor’s Wolf’s budget includes a plan for spending about $101 million in federal child care funds and reduced state child care funding by $150,000. It is important that Pennsylvania lawmakers recognize high-quality child care as a vital workforce support for young Pennsylvania families and a delivery system for high-quality pre-k.
“We salute Governor Wolf for making high-quality pre-k funding a budget priority, and we strongly encourage the legislature to fully-fund it.”
The 2019-20 proposed budget includes the following expanded investments to early learning:
Increases PA Pre-K Counts investment: $40 million
Increases investment in Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program: $10 million
Increase in Federal Funding to support child care services: $101 million
Increase of $5 million to support Evidence-based Home Visiting services
Pre-K for PA is an initiative of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five. ELPA also advocates for expanding Evidence-based Home Visiting Services via the Childhood Begins at Home Campaign, and the coalition recently launched Start Strong PA, a statewide advocacy campaign to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care for Pennsylvania’s families and their children, starting with infants and toddlers.
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. Its vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. For more information visit www.prekforpa.org.
The Intelligencer: DA joins call for more pre-K in Bucks County
January 10, 2019 by Christian Menno
Bucks County needs 174 more pre-kindergarten classrooms to meet demand, according to an educational group.
When Bucks County’s top law enforcement officer speaks in front of a crowd, it’s usually a throng of media members or a packed courtroom.
But on Thursday District Attorney Matt Weintraub had a captive audience of a different kind when he visited with youngsters at Radcliffe Learning Center in Bristol Borough.
He urged students to keep each other safe and treat each other with respect.
But his message to residents and lawmakers in Harrisburg was to continue to push for funding of quality pre-kindergarten programs, to which 74 percent of eligible children in Bucks County do not have access, according to studies.
“Pre-k is critical,” Weintraub said after interacting with the kids. “It’s been proven … time and time again that the more education that we can give to the children and the younger that we can start the less problems that they face as they grow up, less crime that we have to attend to, the more intact that their families will become and it’s just a positive cycle that continues to grow.”
The number of students without access to high-quality providers statewide is less than in Bucks and sits at 61 percent, says data compiled by KIDS COUNT: Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
Thursday’s event, which also included Bristol Borough police Sgt. Pete Faight, was organized by Public Citizens for Children and Youth as part of the Pre-K for PA initiative.
PCCY’s Education Coordinator Bill Shoffler said the county needs 174 additional pre-k classrooms to meet the demand.
The benefits if that number is reach, he said, would be “immeasurable.”
“What studies have found is that kids who attend a quality pre-k do better in school, have higher graduation rates and as adults they’re actually healthier,” Shoffler said. “They rely less on social support and one of the reasons our district attorney is so supportive of pre-k is that they have less interaction with the criminal justice system.”
He called the $25 million in pre-kindergarten funding included in the final 2018-19 state budget a good start, but stressed that more efforts are needed.
One of the ways an institution in Pennsylvania is viewed as “high quality” is through participating in certification programs.
Pre-K Kids Adorn PA Capitol Christmas Tree with Hand-crafted Ornaments, Join Gov. Wolf at Tree-Lighting Ceremony
Advocacy campaign seeks to expand pre-k access to all eligible PA children
HARRISBURG (December 6, 2018)— The Pre-K for PA campaign organized the creation of thousands of original ornaments crafted by pre-k students from all corners of the commonwealth this month to help decorate the Pennsylvania Capitol Christmas tree. Today, dozens of pre-k students joined Governor Wolf at the tree lighting ceremony to celebrate the start of the holiday season in the Capitol.
“Seeing young children enjoy the magic of the holidays is a reminder of their optimism and potential,” said Governor Wolf. “Hand-crafted ornaments created by our youngest Pennsylvanians will adorn family Christmas trees across our commonwealth, demonstrating the importance of pre-k and lifelong learning.”
“The fortunate students here today represent a handful of the thousands of students who have benefitted thanks to the leadership of Gov. Wolf, and members of the General Assembly on both sides of the aisle, from continued commitment to pre-k expansion,” said Joan Benso, President & CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, a principal partner of Pre-K for PA. “This past year, the Pennsylvania budget gave about 2,600 more children the opportunity to attend a high-quality pre-k program. This year our holiday wish is for Pennsylvania to make another serious investment as there are still 106,000 children across the commonwealth missing out on high-quality, publicly funded pre-k.”
Today only 39 percent of eligible children in Pennsylvania attend high-quality, publicly funded pre-k, leaving more than 106,000 children without the benefit of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, due to limited state funding.
A poll commissioned by the Pre-K for PA campaign done by Harper Polling in May showed 75 percent of likely voters support increasing funding to expand access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-kindergarten, while 94 percent of voters believe that early education is important.
A large body of research shows that children who attend high-quality preschool:
Enter kindergarten with stronger literacy, language, math and social/emotional skills;
Are less likely to need special education services, less likely to repeat grades, and more likely to graduate and enroll in college;
Over a lifetime, these young learners will see stronger employment opportunities and increased earning potential; and,
Are less likely to commit juvenile and adult crimes.
No child gets a do-over and every dollar invested provides access to a high-quality pre-k experience, which reaps significant cost savings in the future in the form of less public spending on special education, social welfare programs, and criminal justice.
A list of pre-k centers participating in the creation of Capitol Christmas tree ornaments can be found at www.prekforpa.org/tree.
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.
