Advocates in Pittsburgh say early education helps kids a lot, so why isn’t there more funding?
May 23, 2016 By Iain Oldman, PublicSource
Pittsburgh city council members, pre-K educators and child care advocates gathered Monday to raise awareness and issue a call to action about the need for affordable and high-quality early education.
Council members Dan Gilman, Natalia Rudiak and Deb Gross spoke at the City County Building in downtown Pittsburgh for a press conference planned by advocacy groups Pittsburgh Raising Every Kid: PreK Now, One Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC).
Nearly 12,600 children living in Allegheny County are part of a family who live three times below the poverty level in what equates to a family of four earning $72,750 or less a year, according to a report released by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
Of those children eligible for pre-K programs, more than 7,300 do not have access to publicly funded, high-quality early education, according to the report. Statewide, the number of children lacking access approaches 120,700 children.
“It doesn’t matter what laws we pass… if you can’t afford to raise a family in Pittsburgh, it is not a city anymore,” said Councilman Dan Gilman, representative of Pittsburgh’s District 8.
The Pew Charitable Trusts describes high-quality pre-K programs as programs that include well educated teachers, low teacher-student ratios and small class size, curriculums aligned to K-12 standards and engaged families.
Numbers provided by the city council show that children who do not receive high-quality early education are 25 percent more likely to drop out of school, 50 percent more likely to be placed in special education and 60 percent less likely to attend college.
“So much of that can be avoided by providing early education,” Rudiak said. “We know we can’t sit around and wait for Harrisburg and D.C. to act.”As part of the City Council Women’s Caucus in Pittsburgh, Gross and Rudiak sponsored legislation that was passed unanimously in December to create the Office of Early Childhood.
According to the city council’s press release, the purpose of the office is to “align city services that affect young children,” including early education. The office has yet to name an Early Childhood Manager, though applications for the position recently closed. The position will carry a salary of $65,901 per year, according to Pittsburgh’s 2016 operating budget.
The City Council Women’s Caucus also introduced legislation in 2014 to conduct a “child care needs assessment” to evaluate where child care exists in the city and what providers require to boost their quality of child care. Rudiak, who represents Pittsburgh’s District 4, said Monday that the assessment will be released soon.
“Pittsburgh is ready to take the next step toward universal, high-quality early education” said Erin Kramer, One Pittsburgh’s Director, according to a press release. “As our state Legislature enters budget season, we are joining together with old and new allies to remind our representatives that investments in early childhood yield returns across a lifetime. Children are the future of this state, and we refuse to allow them to be left behind any longer.”
The PreK for PA campaign has an Early Childhood Action Day planned for June 14 in Harrisburg to meet with state legislators.
In February, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that he intended to ask the General Assembly to earmark $90 million of state funding to support preschool programs in fiscal year 2016-17. If the funds are granted, the state budget for preschool programs next year would increase from $166.5 million to $256.3 million.
That would open and expand access to preschool programs to about 14,000 children, according to the Wolf administration. A PreK for PA statement said that would still leave more than 107,000, or 61 percent, of at-risk preschool-aged children without access to high-quality programs.
Sarah Byrne-Houser, public policy and outreach associate for PAEYC, said the early childhood education advocacy groups anticipate challenges in the state budget process.
Read the full article here.
Schweiker, Rendell Join Leaders from Across PA; Call on Legislature to Fund Pre-K
Letter to the Legislature calls for $90 million investment to expand Pre-K to thousands of at-risk kids across PA
Harrisburg, PA (May 24, 2016) – Former Governors Edward G. Rendell and Mark S. Schweiker led a group of influential business, civic, military and law enforcement leaders from across the state today in support of continued investment in pre-k, urging the Pennsylvania legislature and the governor to expand access to thousands of at-risk kids in the final 2016-17 budget.
In a letter to leadership offices of the Pennsylvania legislature, the signers urged leaders in Harrisburg to cement bi-partisan consensus around a multi-year goal for growing access to high-quality pre-k for all of the income eligible children and begin looking at pre-k affordability issues regarding middle class families. Specifically, they called for $90 million in additional funding (as proposed by Governor Tom Wolf) as part of the 2016-17 final state budget.
This proposal builds on the $30 million in new funding already enacted for the second half of the current school year. If realized, $120 million in additional funding over two years for high-quality pre-k will serve an additional 14,000 three- and four-year-olds.
Across Pennsylvania, there are more than 175,000 three- and four-year-olds who are at-risk because they are in lower income households—70 percent of these at-risk young learners – more than 120,000 children statewide – had no access to publicly funded pre-k last year.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the full text of the letter and signatories.
You have heard from many of us on the life altering benefits that high quality pre-kindergarten can provide to our commonwealth’s youngest learners. You have also heard of the limited availability of such programs serving only one out of every six preschool age children in Pennsylvania.
The 2015-16 state budget included $30 million in additional funding for PA Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance programs – expanding access to more than 6,000 at-risk children. While this investment was a positive step, the fact remains that more than 120,000 income eligible three- and four-year-olds do not have access each year due to insufficient funding.
We encourage you to work with your colleagues to cement bi-partisan consensus around a multi-year goal for growing access to high quality pre-k for all of the income eligible children and begin looking at pre-k affordability issues regarding middle class families.
Specifically, we ask your support of $90 million in additional funding as part of the 2016-17 final state budget as yet another incremental step towards the above-mentioned goal.
Such an investment will set us on a path to reduce educational, public welfare and incarceration costs and have the most important added benefit of ensuring brighter futures for more of the commonwealth’s children.
Thank you very much for taking the time to consider this correspondence.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Schweiker, 44th Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Ed Rendell, 45th Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Mary Stengel Austen, President & CEO, Tierney Communications
Joe Bard, Executive Director, PA Association of Rural and Small Schools
Bruce Bartels, Former President, WellSpan Health
Dennis Benchoff, Lieutenant General (Ret.), United States Army
Don Bernhard, Former Director, Community Affairs, PP&L
Betsy Bort, Vice-President, Commercial Lending, Erie Bank
Steven Bradley, Chairman, African-American Chamber of Commerce
Jim Buckheit, Executive Director, PA Association of School Administrators
Anthony Campisi, President & CEO, Glatfelter Insurance Group
Robert Celeski, Chairman, Employees Community Service Fund of GE
Denise Cesare, Former President & CEO, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania
David Cohen, Senior Executive Vice-President, Comcast Corporation
Pete Danchak, President – Northeast PA, PNC Bank
Phil Devorris, President & CEO, Blair Companies
Ron DiNicola, Partner, DiNicola Law Offices
Stephanie Doliveira, Vice-President, Human Resources, Sheetz Inc.
Bob Esch, Vice-President External Affairs, American Refining Group
Tim Fallon, Chief Executive Officer, PBS-39
Varsovia Fernandez, Senior Vice-President, Phila. Market Leader, Customers Bank
Frank Ford, CEO – Allentown Campus, St. Luke’s University Health Network
Sara Furlong, Executive Communications Coordinator, American Refining Group
Robert Fyock, Sheriff, Indiana County Sheriff’s Office
Jeff Gayman, Senior Vice-President, Retail Banking & Consumer Lending, Orrstown Bank
Thomas Gluck, Executive Director, PA Association of Intermediate Units
Brad Gosser, Executive Director and Vice-President, Greenville-Reynolds Dev. Corporation
Michael Hanes, President & CEO, Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
Bill Hankowsky, Chairman, President & CEO, Liberty Property Trust
Dave Hawk, Chairman of the Board, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates
Paul Healey, Executive Director, PA Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals
Fritz Heinemann, President & CEO, EconomicsPennsylvania
Tara Hemmer, Area Vice-President, Waste Management of Greater Mid-Atlantic
Tom Hogan, District Attorney, Chester County District Attorney’s Office
Dan Hoover, President & CEO, Roaring Spring Blank Book Company
Joe Hurd, President & CEO, Blair County Chamber of Commerce
Renee Cardwell Hughes, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross SE PA Chapter
Bill Isler, President & CEO, Fred Rogers Company
Kathy Killian, Vice-President of Human Resources & Customer Services, Philadelphia Phillies
Tom King, Chief of Police, State College Police Department
James Kinneer, Vice-President, Indiana Regional Medical Center
Robert Krasne, Chief Executive Officer, Steinman Communications
Jay Kshatri, Chairman of the Board, Community Services for Children, Inc.
Allen Kukovich, Attorney At Law
Keith Leaphart, President & CEO, Replica Creative Inc.
Alice Lindenauer, Managing Director, Global Human Resources, Hamilton Lane
Jerry Maginnis, Office Managing Partner (Ret.), Phila. Office, KPMG LLP
Nathan Mains, Executive Director, PA School Boards Association
Ed Martin, Chief Executive Officer, Goodx.com
Dwight Mathis, Market Executive, Merril Lynch
Rob McNeill, Managing Partner, Deloitte, LLP – Greater Philadelphia Region
Paula McWilliams, President & CEO, Heritage Community Initiatives
Phyllis Mundy, State Representative (Ret.), 120th Legislative District
Dennis Noonan, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Ford Business Machines
Jerry Oleksiak, President, Pennsylvania State Education Association
Dave Patti, President & CEO, Pennsylvania Business Council
Kathleen Pavelko, President & CEO, WITF Public Media
Joseph Peluso, Management Consultant
Phil Peterson, Deputy-Director, ReadyNation
Norm Rich, Former President & CEO, Weis Markets Inc.
Kristen Rotz, President, United Way of Pennsylvania
Brian Schreiber, Executive Director, Jewish Community Center
Nick Scott, Jr., Vice-President, Scott Enterprises
Judith von Seldeneck, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Diversified Search
Sandra Strauss, Director of Public Advocacy, PA Council of Churches
Sam Talarico, President, Northwestern Region – PSEA
Stephen Tang, President & CEO, University City Science Center
Vincentina Taylor, President, Waveline Direct, LLC
Art Thomas, Vice-President, Meck-Tech, Inc.
Kevin Thomas, Executive Director, PA District Kiwanis International
John Touey, Principal, Salveson Stetson Group
James Waddington, Director Strategic Marketing Solutions, Lockheed-Martin
Seth Williams, District Attorney, Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
Andrew Williford, Vice-President, Volvo Construction Equipment Operations
Tom Wilson, Rear Admiral (Ret.), United States Navy
Colby Windholz, Vice-President of Business Banking, First National Bank
Jake Witherell, Chief Operating Officer, Schell Games
Todd Wolynn, President & CEO, Kids Plus Pediatrics
Suzanne Yunghans, Executive Director, PA Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics
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. For more information visit www.prekforpa.org.
The Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission is a network of business leaders that work to secure public investment in early learning by focusing on practices that are educationally, economically, and scientifically sound by increasing business, civic, and public awareness of the importance of early childhood education.
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PA Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics Calls for Stronger State Investments in Pre-k
Pediatric Residents Visit Lawmakers, Rally for Early Learning
HARRISBURG (May 16) – Pediatric residents from across Pennsylvania today called on Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers to increase investments in high-quality pre-kindergarten programs to help more children grow up healthy and succeed in school and beyond.
The residents visited the Capitol on behalf of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (PA AAP), which today released a new report – Making a Healthy Investment in Child Development: The Benefits of High-Quality Pre-K – detailing how quality pre-k programs can help promote healthy cognitive, social and emotional development.
“One of the most significant periods for a child’s physical, mental, social and emotional growth is before they even enter kindergarten,” said PA AAP President Susan Kressly, M.D., FAAP. “These earliest years are a relatively brief window of opportunity that can make a huge difference in determining whether a child has a solid foundation for a lifetime of success – and high-quality pre-k helps build that foundation.”
The PA AAP is supporting the Pre-K for PA campaign’s call for a $90 million increase in the state’s pre-k investments for fiscal 2016-17 so an additional 7,400 Pennsylvania 3- and 4-year-olds can benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity. Even with the proposed increase, more than 107,000 at-risk preschoolers will miss out on high-quality pre-k next year, so additional increases must be made in the years ahead.
Dr. Elaine Donoghue, M.D., FAAP, emphasized the role quality pre-k can have in mitigating the negative consequences of “toxic stress” – the extreme, frequent and long-lasting stress that often affects children who must endure poverty and other adverse conditions beyond their control.
“Toxic stress can actually alter the architecture of a young child’s brain, bringing with it long-lasting negative impacts that can undermine the ability to learn, think, react and interact with others,” Dr. Donoghue said. “Research shows toxic stress can be mitigated by the type of caring, stable and supportive environments found in high-quality pre-k programs. That’s why pediatricians support quality early learning as a critical tool to aid healthy development.”
High quality pre-k programs not only prepare children for success in school and in life, but these programs also have been shown to promote good health in childhood and into adulthood. The PA AAP’s report notes participants in high-quality pre-k programs tend to have more positive health and safety habits, better diet and exercise routines as adults, and lower rates of smoking, substance abuse, diabetes, stroke and heart disease over the course of their lifetimes.
Despite these many benefits to individuals and society, most of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds lack access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-k, and many of those missing out are at risk of academic failure. The most recent data shows that, among the approximately 175,000 Pennsylvania 3- and 4-year-olds at greatest risk of academic failure due to living in lower-income households, nearly 70 percent – or about 120,000 children – lack access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-k.
The PA AAP is a state-level organization of approximately 2,200 pediatricians who are dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of children and the value of pediatric practice. The Pennsylvania chapter supports the national AAP agenda for children and work on children’s initiatives that are specific to Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.paaap.org.
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. Our vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. We will not endorse nor oppose candidates, but rather we will advocate on behalf of this vision for Pennsylvania’s children, schools and communities. For more information, visit prekforpa.org.
PennLive: Pre-K is a healthy investment in child development: Susan Kressly
May 13, 2016 by Susan Kressly
I’ve spent more than 25 years as a pediatrician in Pennsylvania, and in that time I’ve encountered many children who face challenges in their growth and development – challenges that, if left unaddressed, can limit a child’s opportunities, including the opportunity to learn.
High-quality pre-k is a proven tool to help overcome some of the negative impacts many of our young children face, including those children at higher risk of academic failure due to economic circumstances or family social and emotional issues.
Pre-k works, and Pennsylvania should be investing more in it so more of our young learners can benefit from it.
Why is high-quality pre-k such a significant, cost-effective way to help ensure a child’s healthy development?
In part because one of the most significant periods for a child’s physical, mental, social and emotional growth is before they even enter kindergarten.
Yet too many children face adverse conditions in these early years that can be detrimental to their healthy development.
Poverty is just one factor that can not only limit a child’s opportunities, but it also is a leading factor in what we called “toxic stress” in children.
Stress itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing for children or adults.
Some level of adversity or challenge is inevitable in every child’s life, and learning to manage the stress that can accompany that adversity or challenge is actually an important part of a healthy development.
But when we talk about toxic stress, we’re not talking about the type of stress that stems from everyday childhood challenges like taking a test, performing at a recital or playing goalie on the soccer team.
Learning to manage that type of stress is actually an important part of healthy development.
Toxic stress is a persistent, extreme, unrelenting type of stress – the kind related to things like prolonged economic insecurity – that can do lasting harm.
Research shows toxic stress can actually alter the architecture of a young child’s brain, bringing with it long-lasting negative impacts that can undermine the ability to learn, think, react and interact with others.
Fortunately, there are proven ways to mitigate the harm of toxic stress in young children.
One way is to help provide these children with caring relationships and stable, supportive environments. Those are exactly the kinds of positive relationships and environments found in Pennsylvania’s high-quality pre-k programs.
These programs can bring about dramatic gains in academic and social skills and in children’s emotional development, particularly young children who might face disadvantages due to circumstances beyond their control.
High-quality pre-k programs not only prepare children for success in school and in life, but they also have been shown to promote good health in childhood and well into adulthood.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that early childhood interventions such as high-quality pre-k programs have a high return on investment in both human and financial terms.
The statewide, nonpartisan Pre-K for PA campaign is calling on Pennsylvania leaders to increase investments in high-quality pre-k in the fiscal 2016-17 budget by an additional $90 million.
That way an additional 7,400 young learners can benefit in the next school year.
The Pennsylvania Chapter of the AAP supports this call for stronger pre-k investments.
Much of the work pediatricians do is focused on prevention. We work to make sure children are safe from things that might cause them harm.
Whether that means vaccinating against diseases or promoting the use of safety measures around the home.
And we work to mitigate the health impacts of things we cannot prevent, finding ways to heal and help children recover from harm that has come to them.
Pre-k programs are, in essence, a form of both prevention and healing.
High-quality pre-k programs can help prevent the loss of opportunity by preparing children academically and socially for success once they enter kindergarten. And these programs can help heal by lessening the impact of toxic stress and other negative forces that can undermine a child’s success.
If you look at it in that context, I think it becomes clear why pediatricians are so strongly supportive of giving all of our children access to high-quality pre-k.
And it becomes clear why Pennsylvania needs to continue increasing its investments in high-quality pre-k so more children – particularly those at greatest risk due to circumstances beyond their control – can benefit from pre-k’s proven return on investment.
Susan Kressly is the president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Read the op-ed here.
