Main Line Suburban Times: LTE: Pre-K for PA – Getting Bang for Your Tax Bucks
June 19, 2017
To the Editor:
“No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks!” Do you remember chanting this each June as I do? Well, for are most vulnerable pre-K students in Radnor, there may be no pencils, books, or teachers in their near future.
Would you believe that 139 Radnor 3- and 4-year who qualify for publicly funded, high-quality pre-K have not one single funded seat? In Delaware County, we need 231 more classrooms to serve every eligible child. According to the Pennsylvania Partnership for Children, nearly two-thirds of the children who qualify for pre-K education are shut out.
Why high-quality pre-K? It works! Early learning helps children to build the foundation for academics, social behavior, and emotional health. Because the brain develops most rapidly between birth and age 5, the right kind of environment makes a difference that lasts a lifetime. Children who have high-quality preschool are:
• More likely to advance grades in school and have improved social skills;
• Less likely to need special education placements;
• More likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college, amping up their employment possibilities and lifetime earning potential; and
• Less likely to commit crimes later in life.
By reducing needs through high quality pre-K learning, every dollar spent returns $17 in long-term savings and benefits. Educators spend less time, energy and tax dollars remediating needs that could have been mitigated by pre-K opportunities. Everyone reaps the rewards when all children, especially those who start life with disadvantages, are given a chance to succeed.
Data like this has prompted State legislators and policy makers to expand access for pre-K learning. Although Governor Wolf prioritized pre-K in his proposed budget, the recently passed House budget reduced new investments by two-thirds and cut childcare by $28 million. Now is the time to contact your Pennsylvania legislators and urge them to invest in our children and our future. Call for the additional funds to serve an additional 8400 eligible children and improve childcare with an additional $35 million. Our tax dollars reap lifelong benefits when spent for eligible pre-K students along with their pencils, their books and hopefully their teacher’s nurturing looks!
Roberta Winters
Rosemont
Read the letter to the editor here.
Gant News: LTE: High-quality Pre-K Investments Needed to Prepare Children for Success
April 24, 2017
Dear Editor,
In Clearfield County, too many of our children aren’t getting the opportunity to attend high-quality pre-kindergarten. As a result, they fall short of their full potential.
High-quality Pre-K matters because it coincides with those years when the brain is busy building the connections and neurological pathways that will enable learning, critical thinking and other behaviors.
Research tells us that high-quality Pre-K is especially beneficial for children from low-income families, helping to put them at the same starting line as their peers by the time they start school.
By investing in high-quality Pre-K, we give kids a strong start, while yielding returns that are both immediate and long-lasting.
However, Pennsylvania’s investment in early learning is lagging. More than 112,900 eligible pre-school children aren’t served by high-quality, publicly-funded Pre-K, even though they qualify.
More than 45 percent of all eligible children living in low-income families in Clearfield County don’t have the opportunity to attend publicly-funded, high-quality Pre-k, including children in these school districts:
- Glendale School District: 100 percent of eligible children, or an estimated 86 kids.
- Dubois Area School District: 47 percent of eligible children, or an estimated 209 kids.
These findings aren’t unusual. You can learn more in Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children’s recently released report, “A Path Forward,” at www.papartnerships.org/prekinpa.
It’s time to close the opportunity gap. We need to make public investments that ensure a strong and well-financed child care system that serves as the foundation of effective Pre-K delivery.
By investing in high-quality Pre-K for all kids who need it, including the $75 million funding increase proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf for the upcoming fiscal year, we start building the foundation that assures children grow up into productive, self-sufficient citizens, contributing to our workforce and joining our community as good neighbors.
Sincerely,
Nancy M. Pinto, CPO
Clearfield Area United Way
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Letter to Editor: Let’s keep the momentum for pre-k in Pennsylvania
January 29, 2017 by Allen Kukovich
I was encouraged to read Mount Aloysius College president Tom Foley’s piece “Invest in the Bookends of Education” (Jan. 1 Forum). He got it right! All of the benefits correlated with access to high-quality pre-K that Mr. Foley described help explain this groundswell of support for it.
Over the past three years, I have supported an effort known as Pre-K for PA, which is urging greater state investments in high-quality prekindergarten. Statewide, 112,900 3- and 4-year-olds who qualify for publicly funded, high-quality prekindergarten are not served. That’s more than 64 percent of eligible children, according to “A Path Forward: Publicly Funded High-Quality Pre-K in Pennsylvania,” from Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. This unmet need is fueling a wide array of voices supporting the goals of the campaign.
Our efforts are paying off! In the past two-years, under the shadow of a difficult political atmosphere, leaders in Harrisburg chose to prioritize pre-K by providing 6,000 more kids access.
Clearly, this is the time to keep the pre-K momentum going and help all children fulfill their promise. We believe that Gov. Tom Wolf will, once again, prioritize new investments for pre-K in his upcoming budget proposal. The Pre-K for PA movement is calling for an $85 million investment to serve an additional 10,000 children.
By uniting to make these pre-K investments a top priority, we assure that our children, families and communities reap the benefits of preparedness for school and life that Mr. Foley described. Let’s tell our leaders in Harrisburg to position access to pre-K as a top legislative priority and make 2017 the Year of the Child.
ALLEN KUKOVICH
Manor
The writer, a former member of the Pennsylvania Senate and House, is on the Pre-K for PA advisory council.
Read the Letter to the Editor here.
Centre Daily Times: LTE: A Step in the Right Direction
October 16, 2016
As a longtime advocate for early learning opportunities for our region’s children, I was very excited to learn that more than 6,000 additional children throughout the commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be enrolled in high-quality pre-K programs this fall due to increased funding in this year’s state budget.
Locally, this will allow almost 50 more children ages 3 and 4 in Centre County to attend preschool. Although more than 1,300 of the county’s eligible children remain unserved due to funding constraints, this is a step in the right direction.
I am proud of state Sen. Jake Corman, who has supported greater access to high-quality early education. I hope greater access to pre-K and Head Start is a consistent theme of our state’s budgets in the years to come.
EILEEN WISE, PORT MATILDA
The writer is president of the Nittany Kiwanis Club.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article108672597.html#storylink=cpy
Sunbury Daily Item: Letter to the Editor: Commitment to Early Learning
October 9, 2016
The Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way has for years stressed the importance of high quality early childhood education as an essential investment in our community’s future. Children who attend are more likely to start school ready to learn and perform better throughout K-12.
I was pleased to join community leaders at Susquehanna Children’s Center a few weeks ago in celebrating the fact more than 100 eligible three- and four-year-olds are enrolled in new Pre-K Counts and Head Start classrooms in Snyder, Union and Northumberland counties this fall.
I especially want to thank state leaders like state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, who is a passionate advocate for expanded access to high quality early childhood education, and state Rep. Fred Keller, who has also been a strong supporter of our work in early learning. I hope their commitment to working to increase funding for early learning will inspire other legislators and Gov. Tom Wolf to do the same. There is no better way to ensure a healthy and vibrant future for our communities.
Joanne Troutman,
President/CEO,
Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way
See the Letter to the Editor here.
Scranton Times-Tribune: Letter to the Editor: Pre-k Expansion
October 10, 2016
Editor: As we all know, a quality education in the very early years is the best gift we can give to our children to succeed in life.
The United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties has for many years been an advocate for high-quality early childhood education as an essential investment in our community’s future. Children who attend high-quality pre-K are more likely to start school ready to learn and perform on a much higher level than those without the benefit.
As the new school year progresses, we all have something to celebrate. More than 140 additional eligible 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in new Pre-K Counts and Head Start classrooms throughout Lackawanna and Wayne counties. I thank leaders like state Sen. John Blake, of Archbald, for his work to make expanded access to high quality early-childhood education a priority. I hope that his commitment in working to increase funding for early learning will inspire other legislators and Gov. Tom Wolf to do the same. Our future depends on it and it really does make a difference.
GARY DRAPEK
PRESIDENT AND CEO,
UNITED WAY OF LACKAWANNA & WAYNE COUNTIES,
SCRANTON
Read the Letter to the Editor here.
