PA Mayors Call for Continued Investment in Publicly Funded Pre-K; Pre-K Helps Develop Vibrant Communities
HARRISBURG (April 11, 2016)— As Mayors from Pennsylvania’s largest population centers continue to advocate for major pre-k initiatives in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Mayors and other leaders from mid-sized cities and communities across Pennsylvania gathered in Harrisburg today to encourage Governor Wolf and legislators to continue investing in publicly funded pre-k. The Mayor’s said pre-k is a vital element in the development of municipalities, citing lower crime, improved education outcomes, and greater workforce readiness as the key reasons to invest.
Lancaster Mayor J. Richard Gray, President of the Pennsylvania Municipal League joined forces with leaders from Cranberry to Lebanon in a chorus of support for expanded access to pre-k, “I support expanded access to pre-k as a cost-effective strategy to make our communities safer, and grow new jobs and businesses. A growing body of research shows that early childhood education in a pre-kindergarten setting provides a proven pathway towards achieving these goals.”
Governor Wolf’s 2016-17 proposed budget includes another $60 million in new funding for high quality pre-k. That investment would build on this year’s expansion and allow more than 14,000 young children to access pre-k over the two-year time period.
Research shows that expanded access to high quality pre-k can also reduce crime rates and make communities safer. Hundreds of Pennsylvania police chiefs, sheriffs and district attorneys have lined up behind efforts to invest in pre-k.
“Less crime means less money spent fighting crime,” said Pennsylvania Municipal League 1st Vice President and City of York Mayor C. Kim Bracey. “Imagine what we could do to improve our city or lower our taxes if we didn’t have to devote so much of our local budget to dealing with crime on the back-end.”
Bracey cited the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) preschool study, one of the nation’s most extensive studies that tracked child outcomes over 28 years, that found that children without access to a good pre-k program were 70 percent more likely to be arrested by the time they were 18 compared to children who had the benefits of pre-k.
In Pennsylvania, Department of Correction Secretary John Wetzel has touted research that shows a $120 million state funding increase for early childhood education will eventually lead to $350 million in Corrections and other cost savings for the Commonwealth every year.
Expanded access to high quality pre-k enjoys bi-partisan support in communities throughout the state. Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello noted that mayors regardless of political affiliation see pre-k as an important part of their communities’ future. “Better education is an important part of any communities’ economic development plan and I believe that better education starts early. I think this is an issue that we all can agree on.” Capello went on to urge state policymakers to work in a bi-partisan fashion to invest in pre-k.
By stimulating economic growth and reducing public safety costs, over time cities and communities are likely to see that expanded pre-k can take some pressure off the local tax base. In the short term, pre-k reduces special education costs so school districts see immediate returns.
Research from Pennsylvania and across the country indicates that where children start school with two years of high quality pre-k under their belts, the districts are seeing the number of children enrolled in special education services drop by as much as 50 percent by 2nd grade.
“In school districts across Pennsylvania, rising special education costs are a leading reason for regular property tax increases,” Dick Hadley, Supervisor, Cranberry Township. “A smart upfront investment in our children can curb that trend in short order. When combined with the savings on the public safety side of the ledger, pre-k makes sense for our kids and our local budgets.”
The mission of the Pennsylvania Municipal League (PML) is to strengthen, empower and advocate for effective local government. PML is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1900 as an advocate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd class cities. Today, PML represents Pennsylvania’s cities, townships, town, boroughs, and home rule communities that all share the League’s municipal policy interests. The Board of Directors oversees the administration of a wide array of municipal services including legislative advocacy (on both the state and federal level), publications designed to educate and inform, inquiry and research, education and training certification programs, consulting-based programs, and group insurance trusts. For more information www.pamunicipalleague.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.
Early Learning Advocates Urge Bi-partisan Support of 2016-17 Investment Proposal
HARRISBURG (Feb. 9, 2016)— The Pre-K for PA campaign, along with the Early Learning PA (ELPA) coalition, lauded Gov. Tom Wolf’s continued commitment to expanding access to pre-k in Pennsylvania after he announced a $120 million multi-year investment in his 2016-17 budget address today, which includes the new $30 million, six-month appropriation enacted last December.
The principal partners of the Pre-K for PA and Early Learning PA issued the following statement regarding this budget proposal:
“Given the dire state of the commonwealth’s finances, it’s especially important to note that Gov. Wolf remains committed to make high-quality child care, home visiting and pre-k available to more kids. It’s clear that he and many legislators understand that we must play the long game and invest in kids while addressing the short game by balancing the state budget.”
“Support for expanded access to pre-k and other early learning investments such as Child Care Works and evidence-based home visiting has become a bipartisan priority that has generated enormous energy among a diverse collection of stakeholders across the commonwealth. ELPA and Pre-K for PA urge the governor and legislature to kick off this next round of budget discussions by coming together behind a budget agreement that generates enough revenue to balance the budget and makes continued progress on substantial investments in child care, home visiting and pre-k that ensure our kids will enter school ready to learn. These public investments reap strong returns that strengthen our commonwealth.”
Governor Wolf’s budget proposal included:
- $120 million in additional funding over two years for high-quality pre-k, which includes the $30 million in new funding already enacted for the second half of the current school year. If realized, Pennsylvania’s investment will rise to $197.284 million in Pre-K Counts and $59.178 million in the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program in FY 2016-17.
- An additional $10 million investment in evidence-based home visiting programs that would support 1,900 higher risk, low-income children and their parents.
- Investing $12 million more in child care subsidy funding making it possible for up to 2,247 kids currently on state waiting lists to enroll in a child care program.
The groups expressed their disappointment that the governor’s early childhood education proposal did not include an effort to improve the rate structure for programs serving children in Child Care Works. The current rate structure fails to provide necessary support to deliver high-quality child care to our children.
“Pennsylvania’s early childhood education system is based on a commitment to improve the quality, access and availability of early learning for children at-risk of school failure. High-quality early childhood education is a vital component to closing the achievement gap, producing qualified workers and providing short- and long-term economic returns to Pennsylvania taxpayers. The commonwealth must increase its reimbursement rates to better reflect the true cost of quality child care service in order to achieve its goal of high-quality child care for all kids.”
Pre-K for PA was launched in 2014 with the vision that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k and has 13,000 members. This statewide coalition’s leadership group includes: Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children; Economy League of Greater Philadelphia; Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; Mission: Readiness; Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children; Pennsylvania Head Start Association; Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children; Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children; Public Citizens for Children and Youth; and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.www.prekforpa.org
Early Learning PA also was launched in 2014 with the vision that, by 2020, all Pennsylvania children will have access to high-quality early learning opportunities. Its founding members include: the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children; Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; Mission: Readiness; Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children; Pennsylvania Child Care Association; Pennsylvania Head Start Association; Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children; Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children; and Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
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HARRISBURG (February 4, 2016)—The Pre-K for PA campaign lauded Governor Tom Wolf’s continued commitment to expanding access to pre-k in Pennsylvania after he announced his plans today to propose a $120 million multi-year investment in his 2016-17 budget address on February 9. The plan calls for $60 million total investment in 2015-16 budget and additional $60 million in the 2016-17 budget.
The principal partners of the two-year-long campaign to increase funding for high-quality pre-k issued the following statement regarding this budget proposal:
“We are pleased that Gov. Wolf remains committed to make high-quality pre-k available to more kids. This proposed multi-year commitment capitalizes on the significant new $30 million investment in pre-k already adopted by the legislature in the budget passed at the end of December making it possible for over 6,000 children to enroll in pre-k for the remainder of this school year.
“Support for expanded access to pre-k has become a bi-partisan priority that has generated enormous energy among a diverse collection of stakeholders across the commonwealth. Our coalition, representing ten organizations and more than 13,000 supporters, urges the Governor and Legislature to kick off this next round of budget discussions by coming together behind a pre-k funding agreement that keeps us on track to serve all at-risk kids by 2019.
“A bipartisan agreement generated by a push for something as important as access to pre-k has the potential to significantly boost public confidence in our political process. It’s time to get behind pre-k because it speaks to Pennsylvanians and unites the many proud constituencies of our state who know our future is dependent on all kids entering school ready to learn.”
Pre-K for PA was launched in 2014 with the vision that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. This statewide coalition includes: Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children; Economy League of Greater Philadelphia; Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; Mission: Readiness; Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children; Pennsylvania Head Start Association; Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children; Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children; Public Citizens for Children and Youth; and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. www.prekforpa.org
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New Report Details How Pennsylvania Can Step Up Investments in High-Quality Pre-k
United Way of Erie Co., Other Philanthropies Stress Need to Reach More At-Risk Children
ERIE, PA (Jan. 13) – Pre-k advocates, including United Way officials, today called on Pennsylvania to increase its commitment to making high-quality pre-k more accessible to the commonwealth’s young learners, particularly those at greatest risk of academic failure due to economic disadvantages.
The push to increase pre-k access is bolstered by a new report – “The Case for Pre-k in PA: Smart Investment in Kids, Communities and the Commonwealth” – that outlines a multi-year investment strategy Pennsylvania can implement to provide high-quality pre-k to most at-risk children, as well as some middle-income children.
“High-quality pre-k has broad benefits for students, schools and communities, ranging from improving school readiness and graduation rates to reducing the need for special education services and criminal justice costs,” said Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, which produced the report. “Yet too few young learners are benefiting from this once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity, and many of those missing out are at-risk kids.”
The report finds that if Pennsylvania were to increase state funding for high-quality pre-k gradually over this fiscal year and the following three years, we could make high-quality pre-k available to more than 40 percent of the commonwealth’s 3- and 4-year-olds, compared to fewer than 20 percent who benefited in 2013.
United Way of Erie County President Bill Jackson noted only about 30 percent of Erie County’s 3- and 4-year-olds – 2,125 out of 6,864 children – were in publicly funded, high-quality pre-k last year. More than 2,400 of the county children who missed out on pre-k are in lower income households, a factor that puts them at risk of academic failure.
“We know from research that high-quality pre-k can have the greatest benefits for these at-risk children in terms of preparing them for kindergarten and putting them on the solid road to success in school and beyond,” Jackson said.
United Way of Pennsylvania President Kristen Rotz noted many United Way affiliates across the commonwealth have made school readiness a priority issue, and high-quality pre-k is “among the best and most cost-effective initiatives for preparing children for success in school and beyond.”
“United Ways and other community-based philanthropic organizations have made great efforts over the years to promote high-quality pre-k as a critical part of developing well-educated children and strong communities,” Rotz said. “But as with so many efforts to strengthen communities, it takes a collaboration. In this case, we need the commonwealth to bolster its efforts to fund high-quality pre-k programs to reach those children who are missing out.”
The “Case for Pre-k in PA” report was prepared by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC), a founding partner of the statewide, nonpartisan Pre-K for PA campaign. The report and supporting information, including county-level data on pre-k access, can be found at www.papartnerships.org or www.prekforpa.org.
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Pre-K for PA Says Pre-Kindergarten Funding is a Good Start; Urges Legislature to Return to Work
Coalition says funding does not go far enough to address the more than 200,000 PA kids missing out on high-quality pre-k
HARRISBURG (December 29, 2015)—The Pre-K for PA campaign recognized today that the increased funding for high-quality pre-k programs that resulted from the adopted partial-year 2015-16 budget agreement is a good start, but urged the legislature to return to Harrisburg and deliver a full budget that adequately funds pre-k. The partial-year budget currently invests $25 million in new Pre-K Counts funding and $5 million in new funding for Head Start.
The principal partners of the nearly two-year-long campaign to increase funding for high-quality pre-k issued the following statement regarding this budget agreement:
“The release of funds and expansion will allow pre-k classrooms to remain open, reopen and serve some additional children for the remainder of the 2015-16 school year, but leaves too many kids behind during a crucial stage of their development. This represents a step in the right direction, but we remain hopeful that continued budget negotiations will yield additional funding in this school year to expand access to high-quality pre-k to more of the roughly 200,000 three- and four-year-olds in Pennsylvania without access.
“With such a broad and strong commitment by so many legislators and the Governor, our campaign remains cautiously optimistic that leaders in Harrisburg will continue to work together, both in this year and beyond, toward the goal of access to high-quality pre-k for all Pennsylvania three-and four-year-olds by 2019—ensuring that every child born today could benefit from at least one year of high-quality pre-k before he or she heads off to kindergarten. The Pre-K for PA campaign believes that high-quality pre-k should be accessible by all children with priority given to those most at-risk.”
Pre-K for PA was launched in 2014 with the vision that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. This statewide coalition includes: Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children; Economy League of Greater Philadelphia; Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; Mission: Readiness; Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children; Pennsylvania Head Start Association; Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children; Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children; Public Citizens for Children and Youth; and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. www.prekforpa.org
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Huntingdon County Head Start and Pre-k Advocates Urge Lawmakers to Resolve Budget Impasse as Classrooms Face Uncertain Future
Education Officials, Human Services Providers, Parents & pre-k advocates gather to urge Gov. and Legislature to Act Swiftly on Budget with Increased Investment in Pre-k
HUNTINGDON COUNTY (October 15, 2015)– As the budget impasse continues in Harrisburg, the Huntingdon County Child and Adult Development Corporation, which currently enrolls 120 pre-k kids in seven classrooms across the county, says it ability to keep the doors open depends on the approval of yet another bridge loan. If approved, the loan will keep HCCADC’s 7 state funded Pre-K Counts and Head Start classrooms open until roughly Thanksgiving.
“It is extremely difficult to operate ‘state-funded’ early learning classrooms with no state funding,” said Louise Ketner, Executive Director of Huntingdon County Child and Adult Development Corporation. “Due to the impasse, we have already had to close our adult education and family literacy programs. Now we are trying to secure our third loan to keep our pre-k kids enrolled and our 17 teachers employed.”
As the budget impasse stretches on to its 106th day, Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental grants have not gone out to pre-k providers across the Commonwealth – forcing them to operate off of reserves, lines of credit, bridge loans, or ultimately consider closures and layoffs.
“We had actually hoped to open an additional classroom this school year to help off-set the high demand for pre-k in Huntingdon County,” continued Ketner. “This all speaks to the fact that our state legislators and Governor Wolf must get to work and pass a budget that keeps pre-k kids in class and takes a step towards reducing the unmet need for these services in our community.”
Stephanie Mock of the Pre-K for PA Campaign stressed the importance of pre-k. “High-quality pre-k is a critical investment in the future of our children. Higher graduation rates, lower criminal activity, greater lifetime earnings, lower rates of special education are all connected by research to quality pre-k programs,” said Mock.
“As a parent, you see the important progress that your child makes in that year of Head Start,” said Danica Coulter, a parent of an enrolled student. “I would really hate to have my child miss out on a full year of pre-k because of this state budget impasse.”
The Pre-K for PA Campaign continues to encourage Governor Wolf and legislative leaders to return to the negotiating table and pass a budget with a significant investment in pre-k that gets us on the path to serving more of the 200,000 thee and four-year olds without access in the Commonwealth.
According to data from the campaign, each year (under FY 2014-15 funding levels) more than 70% of three- and four-year-olds in Huntingdon County do not have access to high quality pre-k.
“These 200,000 kids don’t get a “do-over” if they miss out on high-quality pre- k,” continued Mock. “For them, this budget negotiation must include $120 million of new state funding so that programs like this one can expand to serve more of the kids without access right here in Huntingdon County.”
The Pre-K for PA campaign believes that high-quality pre-k should be available to all children – beginning with those most in need. Advocates say that to accomplish this Pennsylvania needs to aggressively ramp up its investments over the next four years.
“This will take about $400 million in additional state investments over the coming years,” said Mock. “The greater the funding increase for Pre-K in this budget – the closer we get to that goal.”
Pre-K for PA was launched in 2014 with the vision that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. This statewide coalition includes: Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children; Economy League of Greater Philadelphia; Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; Mission: Readiness; Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children; Pennsylvania Head Start Association; Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children; Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children; Public Citizens for Children and Youth; and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. www.prekforpa.org
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