PennLive.com: Editorial: Legislature, Wolf should act responsibly on funding for pre-k programs
By: John Micek June 15, 2016
Of all the investments that Pennsylvania makes on behalf of its citizens, few are more important – or have farther-reaching consequences – than the money it directs toward public education.
In fact, such an investment is mandated by the Pennsylvania Constitution.
It’s right there in Article III, Section 14, which holds that “the General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”
And as important as the billions of dollars the state spends annually on kindergarten through 12th grade education and higher education are, the money it spends on its youngest Pennsylvania, those aged three and four years old, are critical for future success.
In its most recent budget request, the Wolf administration, has asked for a $90 million increase for preschool programs, from the current $166.5 million to $256.3 million in the fiscal year that starts on July 1.
That tally includes $60 million in new spending for 2016-17 and $30 million that the administration did not receive in the 2015-16 state budget.
If approved in full, the money would allow 14,000 more children access to preschool, PennLive’s Jan Murphy reported in February.
While that is a towering figure, it is, for a number of reasons, an investment worth making.
And it is a goal that Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican legislative leaders should work diligently to meet in the two weeks that remain before the June 30 deadline to pass a new spending plan.
For those reflecting on their own preschool years, perhaps recalling languid days filled with story time, coloring and naps, those days are largely history now.
Children in state-subsidized programs have an entirely different experience.
“We’re not talking about childcare,” Joan Benso, the president of the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, told the PennLive/Patriot-News editorial board recently. “We’re talking about a school year/school day program. It requires state-certified teachers. It is an academically enriched program.”
This year, a 15,000-member coalition, Pre-K for Pennsylvania, which includes educators, advocates, members of the business community and retired military officials, are lending their voices to the call for increased funding.
They hope to increase taxpayer spending on preschool programs to nearly $500 million by fiscal 2019.
According to a January 2016 study by the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children and the Pre-K for Pa campaign, only one in six of the state’s 3- and 4-year-olds – nearly 300,000 – were enrolled in high-quality preschool programs and 70 percent of about 175,000 preschoolers at risk of school failure lacked access to these programs.
According to data compiled by the National Institute for Early Education Research, Pennsylvania now ranks 15th in the nation in access to pre-school for 3-year-olds. Five years’ previous, the state was ranked 11th.
The state is 30th in the nation in access to preschool for 4-year-olds, down from 24th place in the same time period.
With those rankings and the benefits of such programs in mind, the arguments for more money are compelling.
An early investment in a child’s education now means reducing the chances that he or she will drop out of school, get into trouble, and land in jail later in life.
“Early learning programs are a ‘fork in the road’ opportunity to reduce the number of future criminals by placing more at-risk children on a secure path to school and life success,” Cumberland County District Attorney David J. Freed said.
Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel has also said that spending on early childhood programs are one of the best ways to reduce Pennsylvania’s ever-growing prisons budget. The agency’s general fund appropriation is set to rise from $2.25 billion this year to $2.6 billion starting July 1.
Spending on preschool programs also saves money by preventing grade retention and reducing special education placements in later grades. Estimates show that every dollar invested in such programs yields $17 in savings.
Better prepared children also mean higher-achieving children, thus resulting in young adults better who can “help Pennsylvania build the workforce it needs to remain competitive in the global marketplace,” said former Lieutenant Gov. Jim Cawley, now the CEO of the Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
There’s little doubt that these programs cost money – worthwhile investments rarely come cheap.
Read the full editorial here.
Reading Eagle: Campaign seeks $90 million boost for preschool programs
By David Mekeel June 15, 2016
READING, PA – The facts of the matter are fairly straightforward.
Quality pre-kindergarten programs lead to students being more successful. And, in Pennsylvania, there isn’t enough money to make sure every kid has the opportunity.
Not many dispute either of those points. The challenge comes in finding a way, in an increasingly tight state budget, to find the needed cash.
The Pre-K for PA campaign is trying to make sure finding a solution for that problem remains a priority. Representatives from the group have been making the rounds, visiting media outlets across the state to make their case.
Tuesday afternoon, they stopped by Berks County to speak with the Reading Eagle editorial board.
The numbers speak for themselves, said Bruce R. Clash, state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Pennsylvania.
Across the state, he said, almost 60 percent of at-risk children eligible for publicly funded, high-quality pre-kindergarten are unable to access programs. In Berks, that results in more than 4,800 kids missing out.
“We still have such a population of families and children not getting services,” said Cheri L. Woyurka, director of the office of early childhood and student services at the Berks County Intermediate Unit. “There’s just such an unmet need.”
Woyurka said the BCIU currently operates two Head Start programs, as well as 13 Pre-K Counts programs across the county. Those programs consistently have about 60 students on a wait list, with the BCIU unable to provide services because of a lack of funding.
With similar situations playing out across the state, Pre-K for PA’s goal is to slowly chip away at the funding shortfall.
Clash said the group is looking for a $90 million increase in Pre-K Counts and Head Start funding in the 2016-17 state budget. That number is consistent with what Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing in his budget plan.
The increase would allow for 6,200 students who had half-year funding this year be extended to full-year, and add another 7,400 kids to the rolls for full-year programs, Clash said.
Of course, those increases are dependent on finding new state revenue streams, a task Pre-K for PA members admit isn’t very easy. But, they said, pre-kindergarten should be near the front of the line for new money because of the long-range positive impacts it can have.
And, said Stephen L. Doster, Pennsylvania state director of Mission: Readiness, that’s a view that has wide support.
“If there’s going to be an increase, early education is one of the issues they can get the most bipartisan support for,” he said of the state Legislature. “You will struggle to find another line item that provides the same return on investment.”
Read the full article here.
Scranton Times: Editorial: Expand Pre-k for More Kids
By: Editorial Board 6/14/16
For politicians, early childhood education is a case of a narrow window and a far horizon. In Pennsylvania, state legislators are too focused on that horizon.
Abundant research on education and brain development shows that there is a relatively narrow window, between ages 3 and 5, in which to best establish a solid educational foundation in most kids — especially regarding language.
Yet in Pennsylvania, only one in six of Pennsylvania’s 300,000 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs.
According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, in 2015 Pennsylvania ranked 15th nationally in pre-K access for 3-year-olds, down from 11th in 2010, and 30th in access for 4-year-olds, down from 24th five years earlier.
Over the period, the state has fallen behind all of the other states in the region in making early education accessible. The institute said 26 percent of Pennsylvania 4-year-olds had access in 2015, compared with New York, 54 percent; New Jersey, 35 percent; Maryland, 42 percent, and West Virginia, 94 percent.
A big part of the problem is that far horizon. Politicians often are reluctant to dedicate state funds to early childhood education because the results are not instantaneous. Unlike a rebuilt highway or bridge, the results are not immediately marketable and, therefore, not politically marketable. Results of increasing pre-K access don’t show up until the kids’ academic performance is assessed much later in their school careers.
Those lawmakers should depend on existing research, though, showing that kids who have the benefit of high-quality pre-K programs are less likely to drop out of school and far more likely to graduate and attend college. They also have been shown to have fewer behavioral problems later in their school years, further improving their chances of success.
According to the early-education advocacy group Pre-K for PA, 176,000 of the 300,000 3- and 4-year-olds statewide live in families with incomes below 300 percent of the poverty line — gross income of $72,750 for a family of four. Of those children, 121,000 do not have access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-K programs. Of 4,775 children of that age group in Lackawanna County, 75 percent live in families earning less than 300 percent of the poverty line, and 1,775 don’t have access to pre-K programs. Elsewhere in the region: Luzerne County, 3,517; Wayne County, 163; Susquehanna County, 223; and Wyoming County, 341.
Read the full editorial here.
WBRE: Business, Military Leaders Warn of Skills Gap in Workforce
By Crystal Canmore 6/14/2016
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) – The Innovation Center is Wilkes-Barre has played a role in providing jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math fields – known more commonly as “STEM.” As these jobs become more significant in the nation’s workforce…Employers face a glaring problem.
“If you take a look at the students today, they are not necessarily well equipped to get into a STEM type of package,” said Wico van Genderen, the president and CEO of the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry.
That has led to a “skills gap” in the workforce in Pennsylvania. Tuesday, business and military leaders released details of a new report that shows nearly two thirds of eighth graders in Pennsylvania aren’t proficient in math and science. That deficiency is hurting employers looking for skilled workers coming out of college and vocational schools. Leaders say closing this gap starts early. They are calling for more investment in pre-K programs.
“If you look at it from a business perspective, the kids are the future of this country and we need to make sure we make that investment in our childhood education,” said van Genderen.
The secretary of the Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry says she’s working hard to close the skills gap.
Read the full article and watch the video here.
Times-Leader: Early education key to developing skilled workforce, strong military
By Bill O’Boyle June 14, 2016
WILKES-BARRE — Education, particularly early childhood education, can be one of the best workforce development tools in Pennsylvania’s toolbox, Labor & Industry Secretary Kathy Manderino said Tuesday.
Manderino joined Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry officials and military leaders to discuss a new ReadyNation/Mission: Readiness report titled: “STEM and Early Childhood – When Skills Take Root.”
The officials warned of a “workforce skills gap” in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — skills affecting the pool of qualified workers needed today and into the future.
Manderino, Steve Doster (Pennsylvania State Director of Mission: Readiness), Wico van Genderen (Chamber president/CEO), retired Army Major General Joe Perugino, of Kingston, and retired Navy Rear Admiral Tom Wilson addressed a small group gathered at the Chamber’s Innovation Center on South Main Street about the need for additional funding for pre-K and Head Start funding.
The group wants the state budget for early education increased by $90 million to about $256 million — funding, they said, is necessary for a successful workforce development strategy to accommodate 21st century business and military workforce needs.
Citing the Read Nation/Mission: Readiness report, Manderino said, “This report shows the clear impact early childhood education can have on our STEM jobs gap. I want to thank Mission: Readiness and ReadyNation for their work in this clear and comprehensive report showing not just the virtues of early childhood learning, but the necessity of it.”
Both Manderino and Gov. Tom Wolf support an increase in funding for PA early childhood education programs.
Data shows a shortage of STEM workers is looming: nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvania eighth graders are not proficient in math and science, and more than a quarter of students entering the PA State System of Higher Education require remedial education in math and English.
Business and military leaders in Pennsylvania are calling on policymakers to invest more in high-quality early education where STEM skills take root.
According to information provided at Tuesday’s news conference, of the 6,765 children ages 3 and 4 living in Luzerne County, 4,862 live in families below the poverty level and 3,517 of those children do not have access to publicly funded, high quality pre-K education.
Statistics show high quality pre-K programs reduce grade repetition, increase graduation rates, reduce special education placements, decrease crime and incarceration, create a stronger economy and preserve taxpayers dollars.
Van Genderen said STEM-based jobs like computer science and healthcare are expected to grow by 20 percent to 37 percent in coming years.
“They are driving the economy and yet, more than half of Pennsylvania’s employers have reported trouble finding people with adequate skills, training, or education — especially in technical and skilled job openings,” van Genderen said.
Perugino cautioned the U.S. tech-focused military faces similar challenges.
“It is, therefore, troubling to know that inadequate education is a major factor that precludes 72 percent of Pennsylvania’s 17-24 year-olds from enlisting in the military,” Perugino said.
Read the full article here.
Citizens’ Voice: Event rallies support for pre-K funding
By Denise Allabaugh June 14, 2016
WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Kathy Manderino says more funding is needed to support early childhood education.
Manderino said expanded early childhood education can ensure people gain needed job skills for the 21st century.
She joined military leaders and officials from the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce at a press conference today at the Innovation Center on South Main Street. The event aimed to show support for Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to increase funding for expanded access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (Ret.) Thomas Wilson, who represents Misson: Readiness, said he is urging lawmakers to include a $90 million expansion proposal for high-quality pre-kindergarten in the 2016-2017 budget.
That would allow 7,400 more Pennsylvania children to receive early childhood education and 6,200 would receive pre-kindergarten for a full year instead of half a year, he said.
Wolf has proposed an increase of $60 million in the 2016-2017 budget for early childhood education, but negotiations are still ongoing in Harrisburg, Manderino said.
Another $30 million was approved in the 2015-2016 budget for the first six months of the year for pre-kindergarten programs throughout the state.
Officials highlighted a new ReadyNation/Mission: Readiness report that details how high-quality pre-kindergarten is important to developing skills in science, engineering, technology and math.
According to the report, 3,517 children in Luzerne County and 1,775 children in Lackawanna County are living in poverty and do not have access to publicly funded high-quality pre-kindergarten. That means 72 percent of eligible children ages 3 and 4 in Luzerne County and 50 percent in Lackawanna County do not have access.
As a result, Manderino said a gap in skills in science, engineering, technology and math could have a serious impact on the economy in years to come.
She said she has talked to employers and manufacturing industry representatives throughout the state who are looking at significant numbers of retirements of employees over age 50. She said they worry about the talent recruitment pool available to replace those workers.
She cited studies that show early childhood education is important in terms of graduation rates, crime rates and ultimately attaining “jobs that pay.”
“Those early pre-K years are the most formative years of a child’s life,” she said. “It’s clear that early learning could have a tremendous impact on Pennsylvania’s workforce.”
Mission: Readiness formed in response to data from the Department of Defense indicating that 72 percent of young Pennsylvanians between the ages of 17 and 24 can’t join the military because they either lack proper education, are physically unfit or have criminal records.
“Like business leaders, we are concerned about recruiting talent and skills we need to ensure our national defense,” said Major General (Ret.) Joseph Perugino of the U.S. Army, former commander of the 28th Infrantry Division and a representative of Mission; Readiness.
Wico van Genderen, CEO of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber, said the chamber is pleased to partner with Mission: Readiness, a non-partisan national security organization made up of more than 600 retired admirals, generals and other military leaders calling for investments in America’s children.
“Early learning has an important role in assuring that we have the bright, skilled workforce that we need in the 21st Century,” van Genderen said. “We know that careers in science, technology, engineering and math-related fields will be a major driving force in our economy.”
Careers in these fields are expected to grow exponentially and he said the Innovation Center has become a hub for technology companies. The center and Wilkes Enterprise Center — in the Luzerne Bank building on Public Square, house 36 start-up companies — employing more than 200 people, he said.
“Companies like the ones found in the building and across the street need employees with strong-grounded STEM backgrounds,” van Genderen.
Read the full article here.
