Scranton Times: Letter to the Editor – Fund Pre-k Programs
Editor: As state budget talks continue, Pennsylvania parents and taxpayers should understand what is at stake regarding early-learning investments.
Right now, only about one in six of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-four-year-old children has access to quality pre-kindergarten despite the proven benefits in preparing children for success in kindergarten. That means more than 200,000 of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds do not benefit from quality pre-k. State leaders can reduce this number by boosting Pennsylvania’s investments in this year’s budget.
The budget talks also could affect access to quality child care. Child care has become the norm for young children and can be expensive. Many low-income families need assistance to pay for child care so parents can go to work and know their child is in a safe, nurturing environment that provides appropriate learning experiences for young children.
Quality child care makes employees more reliable and productive, decreases employee turnover and absenteeism and increase employee retention and productivity. Quality child care benefits children, parents, employers and society as a whole — both now and in the future.
Together, quality child care and pre-k have proved to help prepare young learners for school by building their academic and social skills. It is an investment that pays off, but we need to invest more to get a fuller return on investment.
As Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers negotiate a state spending plan, they need to make sure these early learning investments are well represented in Pennsylvania’s budget priorities.
JUDITH LOCKER FANELLI
PRESIDENT, NORTHEASTERN CHILD CARE SERVICES
TREASURE HOUSE CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS,
SCRANTON
Pre-K for PA Urges Leaders in Harrisburg to Negotiate a Budget that Boosts Early Learning
Harrisburg, PA (July 1)—The Pre-K for PA campaign, along with the Early Learning PA coalition, today called on leaders in Harrisburg to continue negotiating a budget that builds on the increased investment in early childhood education.
The coalition partners called the budget passed by the House and Senate on Tuesday, which included a $30 million increase, a good first step. That increase would serve about 3,500 more 3- and 4-year-olds who can benefit from high-quality pre-k programs. The campaign urged more significant investments so more children can benefit in the coming school year.
Nearly 70 percent of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds – more than 200,000 children in all – don’t have access to high-quality pre-k. The campaign supports an investment of an additional $120 million in fiscal 2015-16, which would allow another 14,000 children to benefit.
The principal partners of the Pre-K for PA campaign (listed below) issued the following statement:
“Our coalition leaders understand that negotiations can be difficult, particularly when it comes to expanding investments, but we know that high-quality pre-k works and the failure to invest at a higher level will have negative impacts on many children. An investment of $120 million this coming fiscal year and in the subsequent three state budgets will set us on a path that will allow every child born today who is at-risk of school failure and some middle class kids access to high-quality pre-k.
“Our coalition members have spoken to dozens of lawmakers who have enthusiastically voiced their support for investing more in our state’s youngest learners, far too many of whom are left out of this budget. Gov. Wolf’s original budget proposal only increases access to 1 in 4 of our 3- and 4-year-olds, which is why our commitment to high-quality pre-k investments needs to be a long-term one that goes beyond a single budget year.
“We urge lawmakers and Gov. Wolf to keep in mind those children who will start kindergarten behind their peers because they missed out on the benefits high-quality pre-k provides. There are no do-overs for these children.
“We encourage Gov. Wolf and all legislative leaders to advance negotiations on behalf of each kid who would gain access to high-quality pre-k and craft a budget that adequately invests in this proven learning resource.”
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 www.prekforpa.org.
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The Budget passed by the House last week was passed in the Senate today. Unfortunately, the level of pre-k funding it includes for fiscal 2015-16 does not go far enough to expand access to high-quality pre-k urgently needed for Pennsylvania’s families.
While we at the Pre-K for PA campaign are very heartened that House and Senate leaders boosted pre-k funding considerably and we recognize the actions are the first step in the budget process, the budget falls short of the enormity of the need to make sure children start school ready to learn.
With fewer than 20 percent of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds able to access publicly funded, high-quality pre-k programs, the pace of expansion must be hastened. At a minimum, the fiscal 2015-16 investment should be $120 million.
Your continued support is so valuable as we reach out to the governor and all legislators to work with them toward reaching a final budget agreement that makes the level of investment in pre-k that we all know is needed.
This weekend the PA House of Representatives is expected to pass a 2015-2016 state budget that authorizes no new taxes yet grows funding for high-quality pre-k by $30 million, which would provide access to approximately 3,500 more children. The $30 million investment is significantly less than the $120 million proposed by the Administration that would serve approximately 14,000 additional children.
The Pennsylvania Senate will vote on this measure early next week and send it to the Governor’s desk where a veto is expected. This will set up a budget standoff for early July where your voice will be critical in advocacy efforts to help ensure greater funding for high-quality pre-k access in a final state budget.
The Pre-K for PA campaign and its partners are leading the charge in Harrisburg on behalf of the Commonwealth’s youngest learners. Please check for emails from Pre-K for PA and visit the website next week for the most up-to-date information on how you can lend support.
Lancaster Online Op-ed: Businesses: Invest in Preschool Education
JENNIFER HENRY | Special to LNP
Congratulations to our youngest graduates, those just out of preschool.
Local families will proudly cherish photos of their preschoolers wearing miniature mortarboards and clutching colorful diplomas this graduation season.
But do we fully understand the meaning of this occasion and its impact on these children and their eventual place in society?
A child’s success in school, and ultimately in life, is tied to this event marking the passing of a child’s first five years spent, at least partly, in an early learning program. As research over the past 20 years is proving, there is an awful lot to celebrate.
Children who have access to high- quality care and learning in their first five years are:
— More likely to enter kindergarten prepared to learn and, according to a 2007 report for the Louisiana Department of Education, less likely by half to need special, costly interventions and supports.
— More likely to graduate from high school and less likely to be incarcerated.
— More likely to enter higher wage-earning fields and less likely to rely on public subsidies as adults, according to Stanford University economist Eric Hanushek.
— More likely to enroll in college and better prepared to enter military service, according to the organization Mission: Readiness.
Further economic studies help us understand the benefits of high-quality early learning in terms of return on investment. For every dollar invested in early learning, there is an immediate return in terms of job creation, availability of employees in the job market, and increased revenues realized through purchase of services and goods in communities.
Over the long term, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children says, there is an estimated 17 to 1 return in terms of economic benefit from an initial investment in early learning.
And then there is science —biological evidence that brain development is 90 percent complete by age 5. Synapses and neurons are being fed by early-learning investment, too.
The experiences a child has up to this point — at home, in preschool, in child care — shape his trajectory for life. We are creating human capital, and we only get one chance per generation to do it right. There is no rewind button for the first five years.
Read the full article here.
Guest commentary: The Value of Pre-K from a Pediatrician’s View
By Susan Kressly, M.D., FAAP President, Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
As a Pennsylvania pediatrician for the past 25 years, I’ve seen thousands of children grow up in the commonwealth. And I’ve seen how their well-being can be impacted not only by their health, but also by their opportunities —particularly their opportunities to learn.
One of the most significant periods for a child’s mental, social and emotional growth is before they even enter kindergarten. Research shows a child’s brain is 90 percent developed by age 5, making the early years a crucial time in life, a brief window of opportunity that can provide every child with the foundation for a lifetime of success.
One of the best ways to help these young learners is high-quality pre-kindergarten, which can bring about dramatic gains in academic and social skills in all children, particularly those who might face disadvantages due to circumstances beyond their control. High-quality pre-k programs provide appropriate, interactive, supportive and stimulating environments for these young minds to thrive.
And pre-k has a ripple effect that goes far beyond the early years. Research shows kids who benefit from high-quality pre-k enter school with stronger literacy, language, math and social/emotional skills. They are less likely to need special education services, less likely to repeat grades and more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college. And over a lifetime, these young learners will see stronger employment opportunities and increased earning potential, and they will be less likely to end up on the wrong side of the law.
All of this adds up to benefits not only for the child, but for all of us. The problem is, not enough children have access to high-quality pre-k.
In Pennsylvania, only about 18.9 percent of our 3- and 4-year-olds (or about 1 in 6) is able to attend publicly funded, high-quality pre-k, according to the statewide, non-partisan Pre-K for PA campaign. In McKean County, that statistic is better at 35 percent — or about 1 in 3 children — but it still means about 650 McKean County 3- and 4-year-olds don’t have access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-k.
A budget proposal currently on the table at the state Capitol would increase the state’s investment in high-quality pre-k by $120 million — less than a half percent of the state’s total proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. This increased investment would make high-quality pre-k available to 14,000 more children across the commonwealth, increasing access from 1 in 6 of our 3- and 4-year-olds to about 1 in 4.
This is a solid first step, but still leaves a large majority of young learners missing out on the lifelong benefits goal of making high-quality pre-k universally accessible.
Why should we make this investment? Because we all benefit from it. An economic analysis by the Pennsylvania Economy League shows every $1 Pennsylvania invests in high-quality pre-k generates $1.79 in immediate new spending. The return on investment is even more impressive in the long term because every dollar invested in pre-k returns up to $17 in savings and benefits to the commonwealth in the form of a reduced reliance on taxpayer-funded social services, reduced crime and incarceration costs and increased earning power in a better-educated, more competitive workforce.
Read the full article here.
