By Tom Ridge, Mark Schweiker, Ed Rendell, Tom Corbett, Tom Wolf
For more than two decades, Pennsylvania has been investing in our youngest learners.
Year after year, budget after budget, across party lines and administrations, we’ve taken meaningful steps forward in growing access to Head Start and Pre-K Counts to help more children thrive in their earliest years and setting the stage for future success.
To let that progress slip away now would be a big mistake.
Research has long shown the importance of investing in high-quality pre-K education for young children to improve short- and long-term outcomes in academic achievement and even lifelong success. This is especially true for children living in low-income families, children of color and others facing barriers to achieving academic success throughout their school years.
In 2020, The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill released an independent analysis on the effect of participation in the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts program. The result: children who participated had significantly higher levels of language skills and math skills compared to non-participants.
These early positive gains put children on a trajectory of success making them more likely to graduate high school and better prepared for college, career, or even military service. In addition to the positive academic and social gains for children, for every dollar spent on quality pre-K, taxpayers see a strong return on investment in the form of reduced need for special education, social services, and other public support down the line.
Results like this are why Pennsylvania voters of all backgrounds, from all corners of the commonwealth, unanimously agree (98 percent) that early childhood education is important to helping our children lead healthy and productive lives.
It also explains why 73 percent of Pennsylvania voters support increasing state funding so more children can have access to pre-K.
Pennsylvanians should be proud of how far our commonwealth has come in providing pre-K to our youngest learners with more than 66,000 three- and four-year-olds having access. However, this represents only 44 percent of eligible children, leaving almost 85,000 children on the sidelines each year.
Better than anyone, we can appreciate the tough decisions that state lawmakers must make to balance the state budget. Given the strong research and public support, nothing should stand in the way of continued investment and strengthening of our commonwealth’s pre-K programs.
Lawmakers must work together to address challenges facing the system like the early learning teacher shortage that is jeopardizing the ability to serve additional children in pre-K and child care centers across the state
We must stay on the path of progress for our children, for our communities, and for the commonwealth we all proudly served.
Tom Ridge, Mark Schweiker, Ed Rendell, Tom Corbett, and Tom Wolf all served as governors of Pennsylvania.
By Jordan Anderson
May 20, 2024
Teachers are burned out, and Maya Arrington knows it.
At Shady Lane School, her job is to provide additional support to teachers when they need it, bouncing from classroom to classroom throughout the day. The school used to exceed mandated staff ratios and usually had an additional teacher on hand to fill in when someone called out or just needed a break. That’s not the case anymore, and Ms. Arrington has worked to fill the gaps.
“You never know what is actually needed until you step into that space and you see it for yourself,” Ms. Arrington, the school’s social-emotional learning program coordinator, said. “Because I didn’t recognize that there was a lot more that could be done here until I came into the field.”
Shady Lane School in Point Breeze has been educating Pittsburgh’s children for more than 50 years, but the reality of early childhood education looks much different than it once did.
A historic staffing crisis is causing classrooms and entire programs across the state to decrease their capacity or close, leaving working families without access to critical early learning programs. Less than half of eligible children in Pennsylvania attend a high-quality preschool program.
Providers and early childhood advocates are hopeful, though, that some relief is on the way. Governor Josh Shapiro has asked the General Assembly to invest in programs that make Pre-K more accessible to low-income families, and an initiative to attract and retain teachers.
The governor has requested $30 million for Pre-K Counts and another $3 million for Head Start, two programs that provide free preschool to children falling below the poverty line. The governor also asked to increase subsidy rates for early child learning centers, which could help alleviate some of the rising food, utility and other operating costs burdening providers.
And to tackle the teacher shortage, advocates are pushing for $284 million toward an early childhood workforce recruitment and retention initiative
“Right now, we are seeing a crisis that can’t be subsidized on the backs of childcare teachers, nor can we put this on the backs of families who are already expending all their resources that they can,” said Emily Neff, director of public policy for the Pittsburgh-based child advocacy nonprofit Trying Together.
New workforce initiative
The Pre-K for PA campaign, a coalition of statewide providers and children’s advocacy organizations, have pushed for these kinds of investments for more than a decade. The issue is now reaching a fever pitch, Ms. Neff said. In Allegheny County alone, nearly two dozen child care facilities have shut down since the pandemic.
“The root issue is that we need to invest in our supply side, which is our teachers,” Ms. Neff said. “Without continuing to recruit and retain high quality teachers, we will not be able to serve all the eligible children who want access to these programs.”
The proposed boosts to Pre-K Counts and Head Start would increase the amount of money providers would receive for each child they serve through these programs. Ms. Neff said the workforce initiative could make sure there are enough teachers to keep Pre-K Counts and Head Start classrooms staffed, generating funding for monthly wage increases or bonuses for staff who stay on the job for a certain length of time or meet certain credentials.
“Directors tell us constantly that they’ll think they have a good person that they can hire, but then they won’t show up for the interview because they see what the wages are,” Ms. Neff said.
Other early care and education programs rely on the state for funding, but not in the same way as Pre-K, which doesn’t see any federal money.
Compared to more than 25 states with similar Pre-K programs, Pennsylvania ranks 14th in per capita spending. The state spends about $1,000 per capita – that’s far less than neighboring New Jersey, which is ranked first and spends nearly $4,000.
Early care and education providers statewide agree that additional program investments and incentives are needed to hire and retain quality Pre-K staff. Under the constraints of tight operating budgets, providers are often unable to provide their teachers with annual cost-of-living raises or merit-based bonuses.
For equivalent experience and credentials, kindergarten teachers and elementary school teachers make double that of a preschool teacher. On top of that, they can earn much more generous health and PTO benefits, said Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
“Historically, there’s always been a lack of investments in the field, especially in wages and benefits for those educators,” Ms. King said. “This is about providing wage increases that make sure that programs are able to be operational, have professionals in the classrooms.”
Providers fear that without securing and maintaining additional funding to fairly compensate teachers, families will see longer waiting lists and fewer high-quality options.
“When you’re in those programs, there are requirements around the staff ratios, their education,” Ms. King said. “That comes with a cost – as it should. You should be appropriately paying someone who has a certain level of education to make sure kids are seeing positive outcomes.”
Meeting the demand
Programs that have achieved high quality are compensating in the ways they can, while still meeting teacher-student ratios and other state requirements. Many are decreasing how many children they serve, including Shady Lane School.
The school, which offers Pre-K counts, has a total capacity for 202 children, but only has about 130 children currently enrolled. The school doesn’t want to bring more kids into already overwhelmed classrooms, especially in the face of increased staff turnover.
Lindsey Ramsey, executive director of Shady Lane School, says teachers are seeking better wages available at Pittsburgh Public Schools or in other fields entirely. The school property is large enough to add more classrooms, which could expand its capacity for programs like Pre-Counts, but it would require more staffing to do so. That’s not possible at the moment, Ms. Ramsey said.
She realizes that offering those extra spots would do good in a county where just over half of children eligible for preschool are receiving that critical early education. The school did increase their Pre-K Counts slots from 11 to 28 in the past year, but it’s still not enough to meet the demand, especially for families who cannot otherwise afford Pre-K programming.
Read the full article here.
MyChesCo: Shaping the Future of Pennsylvania: Examining Gov. Shapiro’s 2024-25 Budget Proposal
February 7, 2024
By: Maryann Pugh
Today, we delve into our analysis of the 2024-25 state budget proposed by Governor Josh Shapiro, an issue that is currently the focus of numerous discussions amongst Pennsylvanians and the Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA) coalition.
Gov. Shapiro’s budget proposal puts the spotlight on the young minds of our state, focusing significantly on pre-kindergarten programs and aiming to tackle the pressing matter of a historic teacher staffing shortage. With nearly $33 million allocated towards state-funded pre-K programs, the Governor’s office aims to alleviate inflationary pressures that pre-K providers grapple with while navigating the seemingly unending teacher shortage.
However, the ELPA coalition paints a concerning picture with pre-K classrooms closing throughout the commonwealth due to inadequate wages. These circumstances are forcing pre-k teachers to vacate their chosen field for higher-paying roles in other sectors. The fresh investment planned by the government is undoubtedly a critical initial step towards overcoming this issue.
While these initiatives are commendable, there’s a dire need for future investments to handle the teacher shortage and ensure the potential 87,000 eligible preschoolers in Pennsylvania receive the quality early education they need.
Another cornerstone of the proposed budget is increased rates for subsidized childcare, a move applauded by Start Strong PA. The hike in reimbursement rates aims primarily to support child care providers grappling with escalating costs and a worsening teacher shortage. States like Maine, Florida, Kentucky, and Nebraska have shown the way by investing in recruitment and retention programs to stabilize their child care systems, and Pennsylvania may need to follow suit.
The budget proposal also includes an increase in funding for Early Intervention programs, which work with children who have developmental delays. This funding is a crucial step in ensuring all children with developmental delays can receive the help they need, regardless of their family’s income.
However, the proposal has raised concerns among the Childhood Begins at Home campaign, which expressed worries about a potential cut in funding for home-visiting services due to the expected loss of one-time federal stimulus funds, and effects of federal sequestration on discretionary spending.
While Gov. Shapiro’s proposal outlines important advances in early childhood education and support, many advocacy campaigns believe further steps must be taken to fully address Pennsylvania’s child care and pre-K teacher shortage, and ensure the future generations of our state are afforded the quality early education they so rightly deserve.
Read the full article here.
The Valley Ledger: Legislators Recognize Two Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers Inc. Sites Move-up to High Quality
October 2, 2023
CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA — State Senator David Argall (R-District 29) and State Representative Doyle Heffley (R-District 122) presented certificates to staff at Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers Inc. recognizing two of their child care centers in Carbon County for achieving the highest quality designation in the state, a Keystone STAR 4. Keystone STARS is Pennsylvania’s Quality Rating and Improvement System helping early care and education centers reach and sustain high-quality education programs.
“Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers at S.S. Palmer and Towamensing Pre-K Counts classrooms work directly in partnership with the Palmerton School District to maintain high-quality education for children three to five years of age,“ said Charles Dinofrio, CEO of Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers, Inc. “The teachers in these classrooms work to provide developmentally appropriate lessons that foster each child’s ability to learn at their own pace while achieving individual academic goals.”
The legislators read to a classroom of Pre-K Counts students at both the S.S Palmer and Towamensing locations. The students in these classes have families earning less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Through the PA Pre-K Counts grants, the preschool education offered by Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers Inc. comes at no cost to qualifying families. To show their appreciation for the visit, each preschool class designed a thank you card decorated with each child’s handprint to present to the legislators.
Charles Dinofrio, Towamensing Pre-K Counts lead teacher Amber Bieling, Pre-K Counts assistant teacher Elizabeth Haines, and Towamensing elementary school Principal Kelly George accepted the certificates. At S.S. Palmer Pre-K Counts lead teacher Brynn Leabold and Pre-K Counts assistant teacher Michele Krempasky accepted the certificates.
“Research demonstrates that early childhood care and education programs like high-quality child care and Pre-K Counts support children’s healthy development and school readiness,” said Jen DeBell, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC). “We commend Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers for reaching the STAR 4 designation at these two programs and their commitment to providing high-quality programming to children.”
Start Strong PA launched in 2019 to support healthy child development, working families, and the economy by increasing access to and affordability of high-quality child care programs for young children. Learn more at www.startstrongpa.org
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.
Read the article here.
WJET: Gov. Shapiro promotes youth education at 2023 Easter egg hunt
Governor Josh Shapiro is using his first Easter egg hunt to push his education agenda, especially for younger Pennsylvanians.
That hunt brought dozens of the state’s youngest citizens to the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg.
The governor is pushing an agenda that is offering programs for students from pre-K through K-12 with the hopes that all children can access a good education.
“We want to give every single child the freedom to chart their own course and the freedom to succeed. The way we would do that is by having well-funded classrooms, mental health care available for our children, free breakfast and everything. It’s really important that we make those investments,” said Gov. Shapiro.
Governor Shapiro added that he was proud to host his first Easter egg hunt on the grounds of the governor’s mansion with his wife, First Lady Lori Shapiro.
Read the article here.
