FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Northwest PA Contact: Kate Phillips: (215) 850-4647
Erie School Board Passes Resolution in Support of Pre-K for PA, Calls on Leaders in Harrisburg to Fund Early Learning
NWPA Campaign Co-chairs Encourage County School Districts to Pass Similar Resolutions
Erie, PA (June, 25, 2014) – The Erie School Board today passed a resolution in support of Pre-K for PA. The resolution recognizes the value of early learning and calls on leaders in Harrisburg to fund Pre-K for all Pennsylvania children. Pre-K for PA is an issue campaign supported by individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania advocating for access to high quality pre-K for all three and four-year-olds.
“We are joining other school boards across the state to rally state officials around an investment in early learning, ” said resolution sponsor and School Board Director Bob Casillo. “There is overwhelming evidence and educators will attest that investing in quality pre-k can cut special education placements by nearly half through 2nd grade and reduce grade repetition by as much as a third through 8th grade – significantly reducing the costs associated with remediation and special education for school districts.
NWPA campaign co-chairs Nick Scott, Jr. and Ron DiNicola commended the Erie school board for their support of Pre-K for PA.
“Investing in early childhood learning is an investment in Erie’s future,” said co-chair Nick Scott, Jr. “This resolution affirms that the Erie School District recognizes the importance of that and we are thrilled that they are taking a distinct leadership role in advocating for access to quality early learning for all kids.”
“School boards and administrators play a crucial role in influencing legislators in Harrisburg who we are beginning to recognize the building chorus of support for investment in Pre-K, said co-chair Ronald A. DiNicola. “We encourage School Boards across the region to pass similar resolutions.”
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.
Pre-K for PA Announces Growing Support for
Pre-K Among Superintendents and School Boards
Expanding Group of “Supers for Pre-K” Reflects Recognition that the Best Possible K-12 Education Begins with High-Quality Pre-K
Philadelphia, PA – While Pennsylvania’s high school seniors are proudly standing with their classmates and teachers this month as they accept their diplomas, superintendents and school boards across the commonwealth are expressing their support for Pre-K for PA’s goal of ensuring access to high-quality pre-k for every 3- and 4-year-old.
Since the campaign launched just a few months ago, more than two dozen of Pennsylvania’s school superintendents signed an open letter calling for investment in high-quality pre-k and seventeen school boards have passed resolutions sending the same message to policymakers in Harrisburg. This growing number of “Supers for Pre-K” are joining the more than340 supporting organizations and 5,500 Pennsylvanians that support Pre-K for PA – and is yet another example of the vast and diverse bipartisan support for this issue.
“Considering all of the benefits of quality early learning opportunities – particularly when it comes to preparation for school – ensuring access to high-quality pre-k for all children should be a state budget policy priority,” said Dr. Natalie Thomas, Superintendent of the School District of Cheltenham Township. “As I see day in and day out, if all children have the same chance to attend a quality early learning program, we can ensure they will be ready for kindergarten, future academic achievement and lifelong success.”
Superintendents see firsthand every day what decades of research supports –that a high-quality K-12 education starts with high-quality pre-k – which greatly increases the likelihood of high school graduation and college enrollment, in turn leading to stronger employment opportunities and increased lifetime earning potential. They also know that enrollment in quality pre-k can cut special education placements by nearly half through 2nd grade and reduce grade repetition by as much as a third through 8th grade – therefore significantly reducing the costs associated with remediation and special education for school districts.
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 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kate Phillips: (215) 850-4647
Employees Community Service Fund of GE Commits $30K to Pre-K for PA; Pledges 3,000 Signatures
Pre-K for PA efforts would increase access for middle class families; Supporting organizations line up behind Pre-K for PA effort
ERIE, PA (June 16, 2014) – The Employees Community Service Fund of General Electric, representing the union workforce, today announced its commitment to supporting access to quality early childhood education for all three and four-year-olds in Pennsylvania. In addition to a $30,000 grant to be used to help raise awareness for the importance of quality Pre-K and increase support for expanded access, the member run organization pledged to collect 3,000 signatures to be sent to lawmakers in Harrisburg.
“The goals of this campaign align with our needs of the communities we support and the members who support the fund,” said Rob Celeski, Employee Community Service Fund Chairman. “Advancing access to early childhood education to all families—especially middle class working families—helps to level the playing field and create a more qualified workforce. The forward progress of generations will be supported by the advancement of access to quality learning to all families.”
“More and more studies show that early childhood learning benefits our families and strengthens our communities,” said UE 506 President Scott Duke, whose members committed to collecting 3,000 signatures to support the Pre-K for PA efforts. “Every parent who wants their child to experience the benefits of early childhood learning, should have access to quality programs as part of the public education continuum.”
“At a time when good-paying, family supporting jobs are becoming harder to find access to early childhood education is becoming increasingly valuable to the next generation,” said Pre-K for PA Co-Chair Ronald A. DiNicola. “The employees at GE understand the value of early childhood education and we salute them for recognizing that the time for access for all kids has come.”
“As a business owner employing more than 2,000, I understand the value of a well educated workforce with access to early child hood education helping build a solid foundation for each and every kid,” said Pre-K for PA Co-Chair Nick Scott Jr. “I could not be more proud to stand alongside the team at GE as they pledge their support to Pre-K for all kids and thank them for their continued commitment to enhancing the communities they live in.”
Last week Former Pennsylvania governors, democrat Ed Rendell and republican Mark Schweiker, stopped in Erie to highlight the need for expanded access to high-quality pre-k as a necessary step toward growing Pennsylvania’s economy and building the skilled work force required to attract businesses and create jobs new jobs. The following supporting organizations and individuals have signed on to help advance the goals of the Pre-K for PA campaign:
Employees Community Service Fund of General Electric
United Way of Erie County
Erie Community Foundation
PSEA Northwest Region
Erie Central Labor Council
Erie Regional Chamber of Commerce
PNC Bank
Erie Bank
Erie Together
The Jefferson Society
Former Erie Mayor Joyce Savacchio
Mercyhurst Prep High School President, Mary Ellen Dahlkemper
PSEA Northwest Regional President, Sam Talarico
Iroquois Superintendent, Dr. Shane Murray
Erie School District Superintendent Dr. Jay Badams
Erie School Board member, Bob Casillo
Erie’s Future Fund, Michelle Harkins
Keystone Research Corporation, Joyce Miller, PhD.
Barb’s Care-A-Lot, Barbara Gainer
Penn State Behrend Early Learning Center, Eunice Moore
Early Connections, Nancy Kalista
St. Stephens Episcopal Church Nursery School, Kristen Fisher,
Millcreek School District preschool education Director, Sara Grutkowski
YMCA of Corry Child Care Director Michele Brady
A Child’ World Daycare & Learning Center, Theresa Mitchell
Gertrude Barber Center, Kathy Bastow
County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper
State Senator Sean Wiley
Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott
State Representative Ryan Bizarro
State Representative Flo Fabrizio
State Representative Pat Harkins
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.
# # #
Petition Deliveries to Gubernatorial Candidates Highlight Growing Support for Pre-K
340 Organizations and Thousands of Pennsylvanians Have Signed on in Support of Access to High-Quality, State-Funded Early Learning Programs
Philadelphia, PA –Pre-K for PA grassroots organizers and supporters today delivered a petition signed by 340 supporting organizations from across the Commonwealth and 5,500 Pennsylvanians to the campaign of gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf, highlighting the rapidly growing support for access to high-quality pre-k for every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania. The same petition, which demonstrates the vast and diverse bipartisan support for this issue, will also be delivered to Governor Tom Corbett’s campaign next week. Support for access to high-quality pre-k has grown throughout the Commonwealth since the launch of the Pre-K for PA campaign in late January – just four months ago.
Organizers and supporters – including local parents and children – delivered the petition this morning to Tom Wolf’s South Philadelphia campaign office on Castle Avenue. Among them was South Philadelphia mom and Pre-K for PA supporter Jen Devor, who said “I am proud to help deliver this message to the candidates because Pennsylvania’s children deserve better. The next governor of Pennsylvania should make investing in high-quality pre-k a priority to help ensure that pre-k is accessible to all 3- and 4-years-olds, not just the privileged few.”
Between now and the general election, Pre-K for PA is aggressively expanding its leadership and grassroots support. While the campaign will not endorse, the goal is to reach more and more voters who will want the gubernatorial candidates to make a clear and convincing case that, if elected, he will make access to high-quality pre-k a reality for every 3- and 4-year-old in the Commonwealth by 2018.
In a recent open letter to the gubernatorial candidates, Pre-K for PA expressed a sincere willingness to work with each of the candidates to offer ideas for how that can happen. Polling shows this issue has broad bi-partisan support and that the Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly support increasing funding to ensure all children have access to high quality pre-k programs – even if it means raising their taxes.
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.
News Coverage:
