Chalkbeat: Officials celebrate expansion of Philadelphia pre-K program after state budget increase
By Dale Mezzacappa November 17, 2022
Philadelphia and state officials gathered Thursday morning to celebrate the expansion of a well-established prekindergarten program in the Oxford Circle area, and to highlight the increase in state spending on early childhood programs.
The officials — including Mayor Jim Kenney, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, and newly elected state representative Anthony Bellmon — toured classrooms at the Amazing Kidz Academy in the 1200 block of East Cheltenham Ave.
This year, Amazing Kidz, which has four locations, was able to add 80 slots through PreK Counts and Head Start following a combined $79 million increase for those programs that lawmakers adopted in Pennsylvania’s current budget. Thursday’s event was the ceremonial opening of new classrooms at Glading Presbyterian Church.
The event was sponsored by Pre-K for PA, a nonpartisan statewide coalition of individuals and organizations campaigning to increase the availability of high-quality and affordable early childhood programs.
Additional state aid for early education is important “because looking at Philadelphia as a whole, we know that 43% of income-eligible 3- and 4-year olds, or 12,000 children, do not have access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-K,” said Lisa Smith, the owner and operator of Amazing Kidz.
“Free, high-quality pre-K is a universal opportunity for society and families of all demographics to level the playing field in kindergarten readiness and developing children into lifetime lovers of learning,” Smith said.
Amazing Kidz has the capacity for 452 children and employs 53 staff members over four locations, Smith said. Smith was able to purchase three buildings at Glading – the gym, the church, and the school.
Carol Austin, the executive director of First Up, a pre-K advocacy group, said that this issue inspires agreement across party lines and across all demographic groups. Austin noted that in a poll last year of registered voters, 90% agreed that early care and education is important to help “set children on a path to healthy and productive lives. Imagine trying to get 90% of people to agree on something. Yet, they did.”
Kenney, who will leave office in January 2024 after serving two terms, regards the city’s early childhood initiative, PHLPre-K, as one of his biggest achievements.
During a tour, Kenney sat with children in two classrooms as they learned about letters and sounds and later made a joke at his own expense.
“People say I don’t smile,” he said later. “If you want to see me happy, take me to a pre-K.”
He recounted a story in which one of his own assistants went to a pre-K with him that she had attended herself as a 4-year-old. He also recalled the SEPTA bus driver, and mother of two, who told him the availability of free, high-quality pre-K allowed her to get a job.
Read the full article here.
WFMZ: Pre-K expansion celebrated in Schuylkill County
By James Esposito Jr. November 16, 2022
A ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday celebrated the expansion of Pre-K Counts program at the Coaldale Complex as part of an effort to provide more access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs.
The complex is part of the early learning partnership the Lehigh Valley Children’s Center has with Panther Valley School District.
Expansion of Pre-K Counts was made possible by the inclusion of $79 million in additional pre-kindergarten funding agreed to in the 2022-23 state budget, including $60 million for Pre-K Counts and $19 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program, LVCC reports.
The funding will provide approximately 2,300 additional Pennsylvania students access to high-quality pre-kindergarten.
In the Panther Valley School District, the funding will pay for two new classrooms, which will provide 30 more children with high-quality early education, Shawn Bariana, marketing and communications manager of Lehigh Valley Children’s Center, said.
This will make a total of three Pre-K Counts classrooms in the district. The pilot classroom started in fall 2021 in Nesquehoning, and the two classrooms in Coaldale are an expansion of this successful model, Bariana said.
“We know that 67% of income-eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in Schuylkill County do not yet have access to publicly funded high-quality pre-K,” Charles Dinofrio, CEO/president of Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers, was quoted in a news release. He said that equates to more than 6,600 students of those ages who still lack access to such services in the county.
“Across Pennsylvania, more than 100,000 eligible 3- and 4-year-olds are waiting,” he added.
Bruce Clash, state director of Fight Crime: Invest In Kids and a principal partner in the Pre-K for PA Campaign, said access to high-quality pre-kindergarten is an important part of a child’s opportunity to lead a prosperous life.
Read the full article here.
State Leaders & Families Celebrate New Pre-K Counts Classroom
Applaud $79 Million Increase to Expand Pre-K Access
Canonsburg, PA — Pennsylvania State Senator Camera Bartolotta and staff from Representative Tim O’Neal’s office joined Blueprints for a visit to the new Pre-K Counts expansion classroom in the Frank Sarris Public Library. They were joined by the CEO of Blueprints, Darlene Bigler, the Executive Director of the library, Peggy Tseng, and Vice Chair of the Library Board of Trustees, Marsha Blanco, staff from Blueprints, WQED, and Trying Together, and pre-k students and families to mark the new classroom with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
“I am thrilled that Senator Bartolotta is visiting our program today to mark the passage of the 2022-23 state budget that includes a $79 million increase for more of Pennsylvania’s three- and four-year-olds to attend Pre-K Counts and Head Start,” said Darlene Bigler, CEO of Blueprints. “This $79 million increase is important because we know that 56 percent of income eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in Washington County do not yet have access to publicly funded high-quality pre-k. This equates to almost 1,180 income eligible three- and four-year-olds still lacking access to these services every year in our County. Across Pennsylvania more than 100,000 eligible three- and four-year-olds are waiting.”
Blueprints and the Frank Sarris Public Library collaborated to open a Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts classroom at the library made possible by the infusion of an additional $60 million in funding for the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Program and $19 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program as part of the state’s 2022-2023 state budget. Together, this new funding will allow roughly 2,300 additional students access to high-quality pre-k. Pre-K Counts and the Head Start State Supplemental are the primary state funding sources for high-quality pre-k in Pennsylvania. As a part of the National Ready to Learn Learning Neighborhoods Initiative, WQED has partnered with Blueprints, the Frank Sarris Public Library, the City Mission, and Wylandville Elementary School to bring educational resources and events to young children and families in the Canon McMillan School District area. This partnership has been very valuable and has provided a great deal of educational resources and partnerships to support families of young children.
Marsha Blanco, Vice Chair of the Frank Sarris Library Board of Trustees, noted that access to high-quality pre-k is an important part of a child’s opportunity to lead a prosperous life and that she knew this first hand as her first job was as a preschool teacher. “I look at the little ones and I think of their future,” said Blanco on the importance of the classroom as part of the community library.
Senator Bartolotta commented on the partnership as a “shining example of how you can have community organizations that can work together to support their children.” The Senator also noted that she is proud to continue supporting investments in early learning.
“Investments in pre-k are worthwhile as these programs support children’s language and math skills and set them up for success, ” said Senator Bartolotta.
Participants thanked Senator Bartolotta and Representative O’Neal for their leadership at the state level that has led to more state funding for Pre-K Counts and Head Start year after year.
Pre-K for PA is an issue campaign supported by thousands of individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania who believe that investing in our children is a necessary and urgent priority. For more information, visit prekforpa.org.
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Lancaster Newspaper: Manheim Township School District unveils new pre-K classroom at Brecht Elementary School
October 31, 2022 by Ashley Stalnecker
Manheim Township School District celebrated the opening of its newest pre-K classroom at Brecht Elementary School on Monday, while local leaders emphasized the need for additional pre-K classrooms throughout Lancaster County.
Thanks to the inclusion of an additional $79 million in pre-K funding in the 2022-23 state budget, Manheim Township School District opened its fourth pre-K classroom last week through Owl Hill Learning Center, adding 18 seats to its overall count. The district also has three 20-student pre-K classrooms at Bucher Elementary School.
Yet, the county and Pennsylvania as a whole are still in need of high-quality pre-K care.
In Lancaster County, 77% of 8,610 3- to 4-year-old income eligible children do not have access to high quality pre-K care. That’s a rate slightly higher than the 66% of 167,470 eligible children without access to high quality pre-K care statewide. Income eligible children are those in families making 300% or below the federal poverty level or a four-family income of $83,250 or lower.
High quality pre-K care is defined by Pre-K for PA as programs with teachers who have obtained a degree that includes early childhood training – a requirement for all publicly funded pre-K programs. Pre-K for PA is a nonprofit with the goal of providing high quality pre-K care for every 3- and 4-year-old child in Pennsylvania.
After a ribbon-cutting for the new classroom at Brecht Elementary, Mary Ann Garrett, CEO of Owl Hill Center, said it’s up to legislators to provide the funding necessary for more classrooms.
“Districts are becoming more and more open to create capacity to serve pre-K,” Garrett said. “The legislature has to provide the slots.”
Republican state Sen. Scott Martin said he’s in favor of directing more funding to pre-K education as the state did with the 2022-23 budget. Martin represents the 13th Senate District and is chair of the state Senate Education Committee.
“For us, obviously, the big thing is the funding,” Martin said. “Every time we can get an increase, that sizable in funding is going to help break into those waiting lists…. We got to keep that momentum going and keep getting new dollars that can go to these formulas from pre-K all the way up through our seniors in high school. All our educational entities will benefit from that.”
Read the full article here.
ABC27: Pennsylvania State and Local Officials Celebrate New Lancaster County Preschool Classrooms
October 31, 2022 by Kaylee Fuller
LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) — On Monday Pennsylvania state and county officials celebrated the added capacity of high-quality preschool slots at a Lancaster County school.
Officials gathered to participate in a classroom visit, press conference, and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the added capacity of high-quality preschool slots at Manheim Township’s Brecht Elementary School.
“Funding is the number one thing that goes to their ability to run a classroom, to have the space and hire personnel that are a part of that. Our goal is as long as there are waiting lists, we have a lot more work to do,” said Senator Scott Martin.
Watch the video here.
Sharon Herald: Pre-K Counts classroom helps meet community’s education needs
October 13, 2022
By: David L. Dye
HERMITAGE — Gathered in the Pre-K Counts Classroom, a group of young children listened intently Tuesday moprning as state Rep. Mark Longietti read a story about a witch.
Upon completing each page, Longietti, D-7, Hermitage, turned the book toward the children, who excitedly pointed out different characters as they followed along.
But while the children seemed to enjoy the special visit Longietti paid to the classroom — located at the Building Blocks Child Center in Hermitage — the classroom itself represented a special opportunity for the preschoolers, center Senior Director Carrie Brown said.
According to a press release, 1,690 eligible children 3 and 4 years old live in Mercer County, but 1,090 of them lack access to high-quality, publicly-funded pre-kindergarten classes.
To help meet that need, the Building Blocks Child Center’s Pre-K Counts Classroom, which features slots for eight children, gives eligible-income students the opportunity to receive that education at no cost to families.
When parents learn about the Pre-K Counts program, Brown said their response is always positive – often intermixed with excitement, joy and even surprise that the program exists.
“I think Pre-K Counts is something where the community is just getting to know it better,” Brown said.
United Way of Mercer County CEO and President Carla Regginello said in the press release that access to high-quality pre-K is an important part of a child’s opportunity to lead a prosperous life.
A study by the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill showed that kids enrolled in Pre-K Counts outperformed kindergarten peers who did not have access to pre-K. That advantage is equal to four or five months of learning gains, the release states.
“These outcomes are significant because language and math skills have been shown to be the school readiness skills that most strongly predict later academic achievement,” Regginello said.
Regginello added that recent polling data showed 90 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania agreed that early care and education are important investments that help set kids on a path to leading healthy and productive lives.
Longietti, Democratic chair of the state House Education Committee and the co-chair of the General Assembly’s Early Childhood Education Caucus, said there has been “tremendous” bipartisan support for early learning in Pennsylvania.
“When you look at budget line items, we’ve steadily increased that line item by a greater percentage than any other budget line item,” Longietti said.
Although Longietti said there is still work to be done since about half of Mercer County’s children are still unserved in pre-K, the statewide average on unserved children is closer to 64 percent.
Brown credited Longietti with his work in securing the funding for Pre-K Counts, both in terms of the grant for Building Blocks Child Center and the statewide funding toward serving three- and four-year-olds.
Pennsylvania’s 2022-23 budget included a $60 million increase for the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Program and a $19 million increase for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
As Longietti enters his final days in the state House — he announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election — he said the visit to Building Blocks Child Center was also a reflective moment. His first state budget as a legislator, in 2007, marked establishment of the Pre-K Counts program at the end of a “long, hard-fought budget” process.
Seeing the expansion and effects of the program 16 years later was very gratifying, he said.
“The wonderful thing is when you see these beautiful kids and their smiling faces, they’re so excited to learn and have this opportunity to learn those social skills and have that foundational learning that they need to succeed when they arrive in kindergarten,” Longietti said.
The Building Blocks Child Center opened in 2009, and serves children 6 weeks to 12 years old, Brown said. The center has received a grant of $80,000 for the 2022-23 period, according to the state Department of Education.
Brown said that grant made the Pre-K Counts Classroom possible, and she plans to reapply for another grant in 2023 to expand the classroom and allow an additional 10 students.
“Following that, honestly, the sky is the limit,” Brown said.
Read the article here.
