Philly.com: Letter to the Editor: State Funds Also Needed for Phila Pre-k
While the passage of the soda tax is good news for Philadelphia’s pre-K children, Mayor Kenney’s plan to serve 10,000 children counts on additional funding from the state.
I recently met with state legislators as part of the Pre-K for PA campaign, which is recommending $90 million in additional pre-K funding in the 2016-17 state budget. State Reps. Dwight Evans and Joanna McClinton reiterated their commitment to pre-K.
I hope the two Philadelphia Democrats will encourage their colleagues to make pre-K a priority. Thousands of Philadelphia children are counting on them.
Adrienne Briggs, Lil’ Bits Family Child Care Home, Philadelphia
See the letter to the editor here.
Reading Eagle: Letter to the Editor: Pre-k Programs Need More Funding
June 18, 2016
At the Albright Early Learning Center there is a waiting list for our high-quality pre-kindergarten program. As a Pre-K provider, I see the difference high-quality preschool can have socially, emotionally and intellectually on a child, and that the number of children who do not yet have access is unacceptable.
High-quality preschool can be such an integral part of early learning, especially for those who are the greatest risk for failure later in life. Without a great start in pre-K, the education gap only widens as children get older. As a director of an early-learning facility, I know this to be true, but I’m clearly not the only one. Pre-K has support from business leaders, law enforcement, parents and both sides of the political aisle in Harrisburg. It is a testament to just how strongly Pennsylvanians feel about the importance of pre-K.
I am aware that local pre-K centers have received some additional funding from the state recently to open up more slots for students (“Celebrating pre-K funding increase,” Reading Eagle, March 19). We must find a way to invest more in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our young children. The need is still so great. Let’s provide access to a high-quality education to all of Pennsylvania’s youngest learners. Let’s make it count.
Laura Heckart
Spring Township
Editor’s note: Heckart is director of the Albright Early Learning Center in Muhlenberg Township.
See the letter to the editor here.
Indiana Gazette: Letter to the Editor: Pre-K now can help prevent crime later
June 16, 2016
When it comes to fighting crime, we can pay now or pay much more later on. In Pennsylvania, we spend $2.2 billion a year on state prisons, and that doesn’t even include county jails. We can reduce that “back end” expenditure with upfront investments that help at-risk children grow up healthy and confident, away from crime and toward productive lives.
Our state budget has long validated proven crime-fighting initiatives in high-quality pre-K and evidence-based home visiting programs. The 2016-17 state budget proposal outlines growth for these two important initiatives to serve more children and families that qualify.
First is a $90 million expansion to enroll thousands more eligible children into high-quality Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental programs. In Indiana County, 58 percent of the approximately 1,480 eligible young learners do not have access to these programs.
Decades of research are clear that at-risk children who receive high-quality pre-K are more likely to succeed in school and steer clear of juvenile delinquency and crime. Expanding access to pre-K must also be accompanied by continued progress on implementing early learning workforce development practices through the Keystone STARS quality improvement initiative.
Second is a $10 million expansion to evidence-based home visiting programs in which trained health care and social work professionals help vulnerable mothers provide their children with good health, appropriate discipline, and developmental learning opportunities. Results of the programs include reduced instances of child abuse and neglect, more positive parenting, improved school readiness for the children and increased family self-sufficiency. One program has demonstrated reduced maternal crime and lower juvenile crime rates when the children are older.
Increased pre-K and targeted home visiting investments will help more children grow up to be good neighbors and good citizens and ultimately reduce taxpayer expense. I urge our legislators to support their inclusion in next year’s state budget.
Robert E. Fyock
Indiana County sheriff
Indiana Gazette: Letter to the Editor: Pre-k Now Can Help Prevent Crime Later
June 16, 2016
When it comes to fighting crime, we can pay now or pay much more later on. In Pennsylvania, we spend $2.2 billion a year on state prisons, and that doesn’t even include county jails. We can reduce that “back end” expenditure with upfront investments that help at-risk children grow up healthy and confident, away from crime and toward productive lives.
Our state budget has long validated proven crime-fighting initiatives in high-quality pre-K and evidence-based home visiting programs. The 2016-17 state budget proposal outlines growth for these two important initiatives to serve more children and families that qualify.
First is a $90 million expansion to enroll thousands more eligible children into high-quality Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental programs. In Indiana County, 58 percent of the approximately 1,480 eligible young learners do not have access to these programs.
Decades of research are clear that at-risk children who receive high-quality pre-K are more likely to succeed in school and steer clear of juvenile delinquency and crime. Expanding access to pre-K must also be accompanied by continued progress on implementing early learning workforce development practices through the Keystone STARS quality improvement initiative.
Second is a $10 million expansion to evidence-based home visiting programs in which trained health care and social work professionals help vulnerable mothers provide their children with good health, appropriate discipline, and developmental learning opportunities. Results of the programs include reduced instances of child abuse and neglect, more positive parenting, improved school readiness for the children and increased family self-sufficiency. One program has demonstrated reduced maternal crime and lower juvenile crime rates when the children are older.
Increased pre-K and targeted home visiting investments will help more children grow up to be good neighbors and good citizens and ultimately reduce taxpayer expense. I urge our legislators to support their inclusion in next year’s state budget.
Robert E. Fyock
Indiana County sheriff
Butler Eagle Letter to the Editor: Early prevention
June 4, 2016
We all know that education starts in the home. Parents are the first and foremost teacher of their children. All children should have safe and secure environments with able parents, but we know that’s not always the case.
Homes filled with abuse and neglect put children at increased risk of committing crimes later in life.
As district attorney, my duty is to administer justice to wrongdoers, but I can’t help wonder at times what if their criminal behavior had been prevented in the first place?
Fortunately, the 2016—17 Pennsylvania state budget proposes additional investments in our most vulnerable children and families that are proven to prevent future crime.
Included in the plan is an additional $10 million for voluntary home-visiting programs that help vulnerable parents — often abused and neglected themselves — learn how to better care for their children.
Through these various evidence-based services, trained health care and social work professionals provide guidance that helps parents assure the health, development and education of their babies from the prenatal months to age 5.
The results include reduced instances of child abuse and neglect, safe and stable homes, increased self-sufficiency, and improved school readiness for the children.
One program has demonstrated reduced maternal incarceration and lower juvenile crime rates when the children are older.
The Legislature is also considering a $90 million proposal to expand access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs to an additional 7.400 eligible children.
Decades of research are clear that at-risk children who receive high quality pre-K are more likely to succeed in school and steer clear of juvenile delinquency and crime. Expanding access to pre-K must also be accompanied by continued progress on implementing early learning workforce development practices through the Keystone STARS quality improvement initiative.
These investments will help more children grow up to be good neighbors and good citizens — and ultimately reduce taxpayer expense. I urge our legislators to support these investments in next year’s state budget.
Richard A. Goldinger
District Attorney of Butler County
See the letter to the editor here.
Lancaster Online: LTE: The Power of Pre-k Evident
4/26/16
The power of pre-K: I’ve seen it as a teacher in an inner-city elementary school, as an early-childhood education provider, and as a grandmother of two young children. Giving kids the opportunity to learn in the right environment can create a lasting impact on their futures.
Watching the wheels turn and the learning light bulbs click in the 3- and 4-year-olds I taught was like magic. From walking in nature to creating a classroom museum, everything was a learning experience.
I was able to follow many of those students as they moved on to elementary school, and I could see how successful they were in their classes. Students who attended a high-quality pre-K entered our elementary school ready to learn and were often several steps ahead of their peers.
My grandchildren — a kindergartner and a 3-year-old preschooler — learn a great deal at home, but both have grown leaps and bounds socially and emotionally by spending time in a classroom full of their peers.
The power of pre-K is something to which all of Pennsylvania’s children should have access. Let’s ensure that all of our kids start off on the right foot with pre-K education!
Pamela Jo Smith
Elizabethtown
Read the Letter to the Editor here.
