The Kennett Times: DAs back pre-K to fight crime
What does Pre-K have to do with crime prevention?
Considering that approximately 70 percent of our nation’s state prison population failed to receive a high school diploma, education is a pivotal factor between incarceration and productive citizenship. Long-term research is clear that high quality pre-k can boost graduation rates by as much as 44 percent and keep young people on the right side of the law.
Knowing this, district attorneys have long supported investments in high-quality pre-kindergarten as a key crime prevention strategy.
View the full letter.
Newsworks: Roadblocks to child care snag Philadelphia’s student parents
A recent survey found that there are about 15,000 young Philadelphians lacking a high school diploma who are not currently enrolled in school or employed.
In order to better understand the “why” behind this number the advocacy group Public Citizens for Children and Youth studied how access to child care for young parents affects high school completion rates.
Full story & Interview with Pre-K for PA field organizer Della Jenkins at the source.
South Pittsburgh Reporter: Councilwoman Rudiak in NY, NY to learn more about pre-school
The Grable Foundation has partnered with The Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) to design a series of learning tours to foster innovative early childhood education, strategies and policies.
Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak will represent Pittsburgh City Council on the first of these learning tours to New York City Monday and Tuesday, July 14-15, to learn about New York City’s universal Pre-K program.
Councilwoman Rudiak has advocated for a “Pittsburgh Promise for preschoolers,” in which every pre-school age child living in the City of Pittsburgh would have access to a free, high-quality preschool education. She has also been an early champion of the Pre-K for PA Campaign (http://www.prekforpa.org), a project of the The Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC).
Read the full story here.
From Pre-K for PA:
Yesterday, Governor Corbett signed into law a $29 billion state budget with the following pre-k funding: a $10 million increase for Pre-K Counts and flat funding for the state’s supplement to Head Start. These amounts were proposed by the Governor to enable 1,670 more children to participate in high-quality pre-k programs.
Pre-K for PA was formed to advocate a bold vision that Pennsylvania will ensure access to high-quality pre-kindergarten for all our children. And the reality remains that public funds enable just 1 in 6 of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds to enroll in such programs.
So where do we go from here?
NEW ISSUE BRIEF: Pre-K for PA released this week a report on how Pennsylvania compares to competing states when it comes to pre-k. This is the first in a series of issue briefs that will lay out options for achieving our campaign’s policy vision.
Click here to read the new policy brief:
The National Perspecive — How Pre-K in PA Comapres to Other Competing States
This latest analysis echoes the recently-announced finding by NIEER: Pennsylvania is falling behind. Other states, particularly those that border Pennsylvania, are outpacing us when it comes to expanding access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, putting us at a competitive disadvantage. From Maryland and West Virginia to New York and New Jersey, our neighbors have made a greater commitment to providing high-quality pre-kindergarten to more of their children.
Pennsylvania can do better for our children, and your support makes progress possible.
Share our state comparison graphic on Facebook and Twitter, and ask your friends and colleagues to sign the Pre-K for PA petition at www.prekforpa.org/join.
Thank you for everything you do for Pennsylvania’s children.
– The Pre-K for PA team
