WTAJ: Governor Shapiro Highlights Early Education at Easter Event
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) – Governor Josh Shapiro and First Lady Lori Shapiro hosted an Easter egg hunt to highlight the need for high-quality early childhood programs across the Commonwealth.
The Shapiro’s were joined by Pre-K for Pa as part of the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to creating better schools, healthier families and safer communities.
“Safe and strong communities are built on the foundation of an adequate and equitable education, from pre-K through college and we must invest in early education so that every child in Pennsylvania can get the best possible start in life,” Governor Shapiro said.
“Strong early childhood education programs set students up for success, both inside and outside of the classroom, and that’s why budget invests over $30 million in Head Start and Pre-K Counts to help us recruit more preschool teachers and serve more students. Lori and I are thrilled to welcome preschool students and teachers to the Residence, and we’re committed to working just as hard for all Pennsylvania children as we do for ours.”
In his first budget address, Governor Shapiro proposed a $30,000,000 increase in Pre-K Counts funding and $2,700,000 in funding for the Head Start Supplemental Program to help address staffing shortages in early childhood education programs.
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Ahead of Shapiro’s budget, poll stresses funding for early child care
Eighty-five percent of providers said they face staffing shortages; blame low wages
March 2, 2023 by John Micek
With Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first budget address now less than a week away, a new poll underlines the staffing shortage facing Pennsylvania’s child care providers and, advocates say, the need for policymakers to step up to help them.
Eighty-five percent of provider respondents to the poll commissioned by the advocacy groups Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA said they face staffing shortages, while 50 percent said they’ve shuttered at least one classroom in response to the staffing gap.
In the meantime, providers need to fill nearly 4,000 open staffing positions, with more than 38,000 children statewide now on waiting lists for child care placements, according to the poll.
“One-hundred-and-twenty of our YMCA sites responded to the survey and the numbers are staggering,” David John, the vice president of governmental affairs at the PA State Alliance of YMCAs, said in a statement. “Those programs have 382 open staffing positions that have caused the closure of 269 classrooms. Across 36 counties there are nearly 4,700 children on waiting lists. That means thousands of families without care.”
The new findings mirror a May 2022 poll, where 32,500 children were on waiting lists. Then, as now, advocates pointed to low wages as the main driver for the worker shortage.
“It is not surprising that this industry, with pay averaging less than $12.50/hr and 50% of professionals who work in it qualifying for government benefits, cannot compete for staff with other industries offering higher wages for less specialized skills,” the advocacy groups said in their statement.
More than 1,100 programs across 54 counties responded to the survey, the advocacy groups said.
On the campaign trail last year, Shapiro spoke broadly about the need for “building opportunity” for all of the commonwealth’s students — from the very youngest to those about to graduate from high school.
Research has consistently shown that access to quality, early childhood education puts students on the path to a successful academic career, and can impact such factors as graduation rates and whether they experience the criminal justice system later in life.
That need has become particularly pressing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which “[erased] a decade of growth in preschool enrollment,” according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J.
“We no longer can offer school-age care because of staffing. If we can’t get some help soon, I don’t know how long we can continue. Someone else just left our program to take a job in housekeeping at a local hospital night shift making $16/hr.” Jocelyn Kreig, the owner/director of Sunshine and Rainbows Child Care in Lackawanna County, said. “I can’t compete and there’s just not enough money to go around. Everyone is already working overtime and I am now the cook and relief staff along with being the director.”
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Tribune-Democrat: Pa. poll finds voters overwhelmingly support early childhood education investments
February 23, 2023 by Eric Scicchitano
HARRISBURG. Pa. – New polling of Pennsylvania voters shows near unanimity on the value of early childhood education, results advocates hope will lead to increased funding in the commonwealth’s next budget.
An estimated 101,500 children ages 3 and 4 in the commonwealth, or 61% of those eligible, had no access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-kindergarten such as Head Start and Pre-K Counts in October 2021, according to a data analysis by the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
An additional 5,075 classrooms are needed to serve those children, the study found.
Partners of the Early Learning PA Coalition are seeking support for building out pre-kindergarten and high-quality child care. They point to the polling data as evidence that they have backing from the public and they hope it translates to support within the state legislature and the governor’s office.
In a poll of 800 voters conducted Feb. 1-7 by Susquehanna Polling and Research, 98% of respondents said early childhood education is important. Asked about state funding, 78% supported spending more to increase access to pre-kindergarten programs. And, 78% supported increasing funds for working low-income families to afford child care.
“Even more amazing is that this level of support is consistent across all age brackets, education levels, ethnicity, and gender. There is also no discernable difference between the views of Republicans or Democrats, conservative or liberal – they are all at or above 98% in agreement. The same goes for voters in different regions of the state,” Steve Doster, state director of Mission: Readiness, said during a press conference Tuesday at the state Capitol.
“Gov. Shapiro knows high-quality early childhood education and child care are essential for putting Pennsylvania children and families on the path to success from an early age. The governor strongly supports efforts to improve access to early childhood education and child care in our Commonwealth – and we are reviewing all options ahead of sharing more information soon,” said Emily Roderick, the governor’s director of press operations.
Staffing shortages and program closures following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are blamed, in part, for the limited access to pre-kindergarten and child care, though challenges already pre-dated the pandemic.
A survey from March by Start Strong PA found that 91% of programs had staffing shortages, with low wages and lack of benefits cited for nearly 7,000 job openings.
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Erie News Now: New Poll Suggests Increased Support Among Pa Voters for Child Care Investments
February 21, 2023 by Brendan Scanland
Erie News Now | WICU & WSEE in Erie, PA
HARRISBURG, Pa. (ErieNewsNow) – Today at the state Capitol, a coalition of early education advocates held a press conference to highlight findings from a new poll that shows increased support for investments in early childhood education.
The Early Learning PA Coalition consists of several advocacy organizations with the goal of enhancing and investing in early child care and education. Advocates said today, a recent poll of 800 Pennsylvania voters, indicates an increase in bipartisan support for these investments.
For parents like TaTyana Abreu, childcare and early education are so important for young children, including her daughter.
“Their exposure to early childhood experiences has a lot to do with how they adapt and how they are prepared for future success,” said Abreu. “As a first-time mother back then, that was very reassuring to know that my child was taken care of in a safe environment setting with certified teachers and staff that knew exactly what they were doing,” she added.
Findings from a recent poll conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research shows 98-percent of Pennsylvania voters agree that early education is important.
“The poll shows strong support across the political spectrum,” said Kristen Rotz, President of the United Way PA.
However, child care and early education professionals face several barriers, like low wages. Rotz says increased wages promote more qualified professionals.
“Pennsylvania childcare businesses are experiencing historic shortages in staffing, so they are unable to maximize their potential for open classrooms and capacity to care for children,” said Rotz. “These poll results demonstrate that Pennsylvanians understand that low wages in childcare are threatening the ability of anyone responsible for raising children to engage productively in the workforce,” she added.
With budget season approaching, advocates and lawmakers are highlighting the need for more funding.
“I think it’s critical that we invest in Pre-K, Head Start, early intervention. When you see the work that these agencies and these groups and these people do across the state, it bears out the investment,” said Rep. Pat Harkins (D-Erie). “It’s something that we really, really need to address more funding towards. More than half of Pennsylvania residents live in child care deserts, and less than half of Pennsylvania’s child care is considered high quality,” Harkins added.
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