Valley News Dispatch: State Rep. Frank Dermody advocates for more state funding for pre-school education
Emily Balser March 24, 2018
State Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, visited New Kensington on Monday to advocate for increased funding so more children can have access to quality pre-kindergarten education.
Dermody spent the morning at All Kids Are Special, a preschool and learning center inside St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The state House minority leader, Dermody helped secure extra grant funding for the preschool last year, which allowed them to offer enrollment for 19 more children.
“They’re doing great things for our kids,” Dermody said.
A roundtable discussion and tour of the facility was planned by nonprofit organization Trying Together, which advocates for quality early child care and education in Pennsylvania.
Representatives from Trying Together, the United Way, private companies and staff from the facility all took part.
State data show 65 percent of eligible children don’t have access to pre-K in Westmoreland County.
That equals a need for 125 additional classrooms.
MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES QUALIFY
Many middle-income families qualify for the state’s Pre-K Counts program, which provides free pre-K education for children from 3 years old until they start kindergarten, but aren’t able to get their children into a preschool to utilize the funds.
For example, a family of four that makes $75,300 or less qualifies for the program but may not have access to a preschool.
Lissa Shulman, public policy director with Trying Together, said families could be saving thousands of dollars a year by qualifying for Pre-K Counts.
“Those extra thousands are more than housing, taking away from saving for college (and) saving for other expenses,” she said.
EARLY ED SEEN AS ESSENTIAL
Cheryl Gartley, director of All Kids Are Special, said having a quality education prior to kindergarten is essential to ensuring children have the skills needed for their K-12 education.
“We have seen such a difference in some kids,” Gartley said. “I think that Representative Dermody seems to understand the need.”
Dermody said he considers supporting early childhood education one of his biggest responsibilities as a state lawmaker.
Pottstown Officials Celebrate Pre-K Expansion
New data shows 72 percent of eligible kids in Montgomery County lack access to pre-k; Leaders urge continued state investment to further reduce unmet need
Pottstown, PA – Pennsylvania House members Tom Quigley and Tim Hennessey, joined Pottstown area leaders for a mid-year pre-k visit at Franklin Elementary. Officials took the opportunity to visit with pre-k students in a new state-funded Pre-K Counts classroom that was made possible by additional investments included in the 2017-18 state budget.
“Greater access to high-quality pre-k is an essential investment in our community,” said Tim Phelps of the PA Early Learning Investment Commission. Phelps continued, “Pre-k programs are backed by decades of research showing that children who attend have a more positive trajectory in life. This means more kids finishing high school, getting a job, less reliance on social services and less crime in our community.”
The expansion classroom at Franklin Elementary was made possible by the infusion of an additional $25 million in funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and $5 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program as part of the state’s 2017-2018 budget. Montgomery County early learning providers received new funding for 159 expansion seats. Pre-K Counts and the Head Start State Supplemental are the primary state funding sources for high-quality pre-k in Pennsylvania.
Pottstown School District Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez noted that the added capacity to high-quality pre-k is welcome news as only 28 percent of income eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in Montgomery County have access to publicly funded high-quality pre-k according to new data from the Pre-K for PA Campaign.
“While I join you to celebrate this new classroom, I must be clear that we still have a lot of work to do,” said Rodriguez. “More than 4,700 income eligible three- and four-year-olds in Montgomery County still lack access to this once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity.”
More than 106,000 eligible children, or 61 percent of all three- and four-year-olds, across the commonwealth lack access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-k each year.
Jim Waddington of Sparton Corporation noted that Pennsylvania is experiencing a shortage of qualified workers and pre-k is the place to start to stem that tide.
“A recent survey from the statewide chamber of business and industry showed that more than half of the 400+ Pennsylvania employers that were surveyed reported trouble finding people with adequate skills, training, or education. This was especially true of technical and skilled job openings,” said Waddington. “It is particularly troubling considering the proven benefits of pre-k and lack of access to pre-k statewide.”
A large body of research shows children who benefit from high-quality pre-k:
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- 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 they are less likely to commit juvenile and adult crimes.
Participants thanked Representatives Quigley and Hennessey for supporting increased pre-k funding in the 2017-18 state budget, and encouraged all state policy makers alike to make increasing access to high-quality pre-k a top priority for current 2018-19 state budget negotiations in Harrisburg. Governor Tom Wolf has included $40 million in new state pre-k funding as part of his 2018-19 budget proposal.
Also participating in the event were Valerie Jackson, PEAK Coordinator; Karen Kile, Pre-K Counts Coordinator; Donna Cooper, Executive Director, Public Citizens for Children and Youth; Laurie Kolka, Director of Curriculum & Professional Development, Pottstown SD; Leslie Spilling, Family Engagement Coordinator, PEAK; Diana Gonzalez, Bilingual Parent Outreach Specialist; Tyrone Scott, Director of External Affairs, DVAEYC; Shirlee Howe, Montgomery County Coordinator, Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
Carlisle Sentinel: Letter to the Editor: Commit Resources to Early Learning
February 22, 2018
Having raised four children all of whom attended pre-k programs over 20 years ago, I know that early learning programs provide children with opportunities to learn essential emotional and cognitive skills. Children in pre-k learn social skills, such as sharing, empathy, and self-control and gain exposure to pre-math and pre-literacy activities. My first grandchild is now in a high-quality child care program and preparing to begin his pre-k experience next school year.
Knowing the value of these programs, I commend Gov. Wolf for his $23 million proposal for child care services as well as his commitment to the state’s expansion of pre-k with a new $40 million investment which will serve 4,400 more kids. However, what about the more than 100,000 Pennsylvania kids who will still not get the opportunity to start kindergarten on par with my grandson and other classmates who were able to experience a pre-k education?
Pennsylvania ranks only 18th of the 30 states investing in high-quality, publicly funded pre-k. New Jersey is spending five times more per capita than Pennsylvania and West Virginia is leaps ahead of Pennsylvania providing universal access for pre-k aged kids since 2012.
If Pennsylvania wants to compete, we must commit resources to early learning. I hope and urge the legislature to fully fund the governor’s $40 million pre-k investment — it is an absolutely necessary, all be it a relatively small, step toward reaching those more than 100,000 Pennsylvania kids who otherwise will totally miss this chance!
Governor Wolf’s 2018-19 Budget Proposal, Ambitious Steps Forward for Early Learning in PA
Pre-K for PA, Early Learning PA Salutes Gov. Wolf’s Commitment to High-Quality Pre-k, Child Care Access, and Evidence-Based Home Visiting
HARRISBURG (Feb. 6, 2018)— The Pre-K for PA campaign, an initiative of the Early Learning PA (ELPA) coalition, saluted Governor Tom Wolf’s continued commitment to expanding access to early learning from birth to age five in Pennsylvania after he announced a $40 million expansion to high quality pre-k; a $6.5 million expansion to evidence-based home visiting programs; and a $23 million expansion to the state’s child care system, which will expand access to subsidized child care and increase funding for high quality programs as part of his 2018-19 budget address today.
The principal partners of Pre-K for PA and Early Learning PA issued the following statement regarding the 2018-19 budget proposal:
“Governor Wolf’s 2018-19 budget proposal once again shows the Governor’s commitment to making wise use of public funds by proposing significant expansions in access to high-quality pre-k. We know that investing in pre-K also has widespread support in the legislature and for that reason we urge the legislature to fully fund the $40 million proposal in order to serve 4,400 more children next year.
“In states across the country we are seeing impressive investments in pre-k, which we hope will serve as an incentive to fully fund this proposal and inspire Pennsylvania to ramp up its investment in the coming years. New Jersey is spending five times more per capita for pre-k than Pennsylvania. West Virginia, which launched its pre-k program in 1983 and made it universal for all four-year-olds six years ago, is investing at three times the rate per-capita than Pennsylvania. In fact, Pennsylvania ranks 18th of the 30 states investing in high-quality, publicly funded pre-k.
“Today only 39 percent of eligible children in Pennsylvania benefit from the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend high quality publicly funded pre-k. Pennsylvania can serve the 106,200 eligible children by 2022, if Pennsylvania lawmakers fully fund Gov. Wolf’s $40 million proposed new investment and the state grows its investment with an additional $270 million over the next three years. If our neighboring states can prioritize pre-k, why not PA?
“Governor Wolf’s proposal also recognizes the importance of child care as a vital workforce support for young Pennsylvania families and a delivery system for high quality pre-k. In fact, 48 percent of children enrolled in Pre-K Counts are served by STAR 3 and 4 child care providers. We applaud efforts to again reduce the state’s waiting list for Child Care Works and increase tiered reimbursement rates for Keystone STAR two, three, and four programs. We are also excited that in addition to child care and pre-k, the proposal also grows funding for evidence-based home visiting programs.”
Governor Wolf’s budget proposal included:
- $30 million in additional funding for the state’s Pre-K Counts program and an additional $10 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program. This $40 million expansion would serve 4,400 additional young children. Currently more than 106,000 eligible three- and four-year-olds do not have access to high-quality publicly funded pre-k programs.
- An additional $6.5 million investment in evidence-based home visiting programs expands home visiting for 800 eligible families and includes a cost of living adjustment for the two long standing home visiting models (Nurse Family Partnership and Family Centers – Parents as Teachers) who haven’t had a rate increase in nearly a decade.
- Investing $10 million more to expand access to 1,600 additional families waiting for access to the child care subsidy.
- $10 million in state funding coupled with $5 million in federal funding for increased tiered reimbursement rates for Keystone STAR two, three, and four child care providers.
- $3 million for a pilot program serving infants and toddlers in high quality child care.
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.
WJET: PA ranks 18th out of 30 states in funding pre-k programs
January 30, 2018 by Jackie Roberts
In a study comparing 30 states, Pennsylvania is ranked 18th in investing in high-quality, publicly funded Pre-K.
“We talk about 16501 being the poorest zip code in Pennsylvania. That’s unfortunate and unacceptable and that needs to change. If we get these kids off on the right foot and a good foundation, that can change,” said Nick Scott, the vice president of Scott Enterprises.
Scott said the skills children learn in pre-k, make them stronger students and even more well-rounded employees.
He stood alongside representatives from the United Way and the Pennsylvania Partnership for Children, urging people to question public officials about their stance on funding pre-k, before election season.
Read the full article here.
