Centre Daily Times op-ed: Military strengthened by early learning

Military strengthened by early learning

BY DAVID W. KUNKEL AND THOMAS J. WILSON III

November 10, 2014

On this Veterans Day, we honor the fewer than 1 percent of Americans who are ready, willing and able to serve our nation in the armed forces.

This figure may be surprising to some, but it is better understood when you consider that 72 percent of today’s young Pennsylvanians are not eligible for military service because they lack adequate education, are medically or physically unfit or have disqualifying criminal records.

This shocking reality is concerning because it undermines the military’s efforts to recruit high-quality individuals.

We must strategically invest to help young Americans grow up to be educated, healthy and fit to do the work of our nation — as soldiers or civilians.

While trends in education reform come and go, decades of research have shown that high-quality pre-K programs can help to better prepare our children by boosting graduation rates, deterring youth from crime and even reducing obesity rates, all while providing a significant return on investment.

Recognizing the tremendous benefits of early education, the armed forces have developed and invested in exemplary prekindergarten programs.

These high-quality programs emphasize school readiness and are part of a larger comprehensive early-care and education system that all active-duty military families have voluntary access to.

This system has been recognized as a model for the nation in terms of quality and access.

Through the actions of Republicans and Democrats, Pennsylvania has made progress in recent years by expanding funding for high-quality early-learning programs such as Pre-K Counts and Head Start.

Unfortunately, access to these high-quality early-learning programs remains very limited. More than 200,000 — 70 percent — of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds do not have access.

We urge Gov.-elect Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled General Assembly to work together and follow the military’s lead to enact a multi-year funding plan that better ensures voluntarily access to high-quality pre-K for all of the commonwealth’s 3- and 4-year-olds — starting with the children most in need.

The knowledge and skill base demanded of the young people who join the armed services is great. High-quality pre-kindergarten plays a critical role in ensuring that our next generation is academically fit and citizen ready.

Increasing access to Pennsylvania’s high-quality pre-kindergarten programs is not just an essential investment in a 21st century education system — it is also an essential investment in our future national security.

Rear Admiral David W. Kunkel, U.S. Coast Guard (retired) and Rear Admiral Thomas J. “T.J.” Wilson III, U.S. Navy (retired) are members of Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan national security organization of retired senior military officials that works to reverse the high percentage of American youth who are ineligible for military service.

Resolution by Lower Merion School District’s Board of School Directors

The following resolution was passed on April 28, 2014:

Whereas, the Lower Merion School District’s Board of School directors is aware that respected research shows that children who have had access to high quality Pre-K experiences perform well in school and further in life, and rigorous national efforts to estimate benefit-cost ratios of preschool have suggested that early childhood education can be a wise financial investment, and

Whereas, child care centers, nursery schools and Pre-K centers in our community offer high quality Pre-K programs to children of families and the school district successfully collaborates and engages with local pre-school programs to help
ensure readiness for school through a variety of thoughtful approaches to child development, and

Whereas, these programs are not available to all families in our community due to economic circumstances, and an increasing number of our District’s families are finding it difficult to meet the costs of high quality Pre-K,

Therefore, be it resolved, the Lower Merion School District’s Board of School Directors supports the adoption of state funding policies that ensure every three and four year old child in Pennsylvania can access high quality Pre-K programs through a variety of service providers and as a result will more likely be ready for academic and lifelong success.