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New Report: The Military Gets It (Pre-K)

New Report: The Military Gets It (Pre-K)

72% of young Pennsylvanians are ineligible for military service. Mission:Readiness and Pre-K for PA released a new report, highlighting retired PA generals who call for better access to high-quality pre-k and tout the military’s universal access early learning system as a model.

Contact: Steve Doster
Cell: 717-343-6403, steve@missionreadiness.org

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Pentagon Data: 72% of Young Pennsylvanians Ineligible for Military Service

Retired PA generals release report calling for better access to high-quality pre-K; tout military’s universal access early learning system as model for state;

and launch northeast regional Pre-K for PA Campaign with local supporters.

WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 30, 2014)—Three retired Pennsylvania generals visited King’s College Early Learning Center today to release a new report calling for better access to high-quality pre- kindergarten for the sake of future national security. The new report documented how high-quality pre- kindergarten can help children succeed in school, stay physically fit, and avoid criminal involvement, opening the doors to college, careers and the military for those who choose to serve.

The retired generals – Dennis L. Benchoff, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (Ret.), Daniel J. O’Neill, Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.) and Joseph F. Perugino, Major General, U.S. Army (Retired) — were joined by local business, civic and education leaders.

General O’Neill, a former Wayne County school superintendent, cited new Pentagon data that 72 percent of young Pennsylvanians are unable to serve in the military for three primary reasons: they are too poorly educated, they are physically unfit, or they have a criminal record. He emphasized research included in the report that quality pre-kindergarten experiences enable children to build the pre-math, pre-literacy and social skills that are vital to academic success when they begin school, making it less likely they will fall behind or eventually drop out.

“This high level of ineligibility among our youth is unacceptable as our current military involves complex technology and systems unimagined in past generations,” said General Perugino. “We need young men and women who can think critically, work well in teams, and make decisions under pressure. Increasing access to high-quality pre-K programs will result in more kids being prepared for college, the workforce and the military down the road.”

According to data cited in the report, more than 200,000 three- and four-year-olds lack access to high- quality pre-kindergarten in Pennsylvania, and more than 12,000 three- and four-year-olds lack access in northeast PA counties alone.

General Benchoff noted that the Department of Defense understands the importance of early education and has prioritized the development of exemplary pre-kindergarten programs – like those found at Tobyhanna Army Depot over the past 30 years. “High-quality pre-K programs are a centerpiece of the military’s Child Development System that is available to all active-duty military families,” said General Benchoff. “This system is recognized by experts as a model for the nation in terms of access and quality.

Pennsylvania’s policymakers should take the military’s lead and ensure access to high-quality pre-K for all of our children.”

Other major findings from the Mission: Readiness report entitled, The Military Gets It: High-quality pre- kindergarten is crucial for youth readiness and a centerpiece of the military’s child development system, include:

  • One in five students nationwide and 16 percent in Pennsylvania do not graduate from high school on time.
  • Of those who do graduate and try to join the military, more than 1 in 5 nationwide and 22 percent in Pennsylvania cannot score highly enough on the military’s entrance exam to be able to serve.The report highlights studies of high-quality early education programs that show impressive education and crime prevention outcomes:
  • Participants in New Jersey’s preschool program, which serves children across the state, were three-fourths of a year ahead in math and two-thirds of a year ahead in literacy when they reached the fourth and fifth grades. They were also 31 percent less likely to be in special education and 40 percent less likely to be held back in school.
  • Participants in the Chicago Child-Parent Centers preschool programs, which have served over 100,000 at-risk children, were 29 percent more likely to have graduated from high school, and those who were left out of the program were 70 percent more likely than participants to have been arrested for a violent crime by age 18.The Mission: Readiness report was released as part of a new statewide and regional campaign effort known as Pre-K for PA. Business and community supporters from the Wyoming Valley United Way, Hildebrandt Learning Centers and Luzerne County Head Start were on hand at the event to formally launch the Campaign’s northeast PA efforts.Pre-K for PA is an issue education campaign supported by thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations across Pennsylvania who believe that every 3- and 4-year-old in the Commonwealth should have access to high-quality pre-K. Supporters of the campaign have been working to elevate this issue among those candidates for public office in this 2014 election cycle. Pre-K for PA is a non-partisan, 501(c)3 effort and will not endorse nor oppose candidates for office.To learn more about the Pre-K for PA campaign, please visit www.prekforpa.org.

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    Mission: Readiness is the nonpartisan national security organization of more than 450 retired generals and admirals calling for smart investments in America’s children. It operates under the umbrella of the nonprofit Council for a Strong America.

militarygetsprek

The Military Gets It

Findings from Fall 2014 PA voter survey on pre-k support

Findings from Fall 2014 PA voter survey on pre-k support

To: Pre-K For PA

From: Lake Research Partners, Bellwether Research & Consulting

Re: Poll Findings from late August survey

Date: September 19, 2014

Likely 2014 voters strongly support access to pre-K programs for every 3 and 4 year old in Pennsylvania. A 68 percent majority favor every 3 and 4 year old in Pennsylvania having access to voluntary, high quality pre-K programs, including 55 percent who strongly favor compared to 13 percent who oppose and 19 percent who are unsure.

Support for providing access to pre-K programs for every 3 and 4 year old exists across party lines as 81 percent of self-identified Democrats, 74 percent of self-identified independents, and 51 percent of self-identified Republicans favor increasing funding.

Strong support exists for increasing funding to ensure all Pennsylvania children have access to voluntary, high quality pre-K programs. Sixty-four (64) percent of voters favor increasing funding, including 48 percent who strongly favor, while 21 percent oppose and 15 percent are unsure.

Education remains a core value for Pennsylvania voters. Voters identify increasing jobs and the economy as a top priority for elected officials to address (78 percent say it is a top priority), followed by improving K-12 education (60 percent say it is a top priority). When considered separately from K-12 education, forty-two (42) percent say improving pre-K is a top priority.

Seniors strongly support pre-K education. Sixty (60) percent of voters over 65 favor ensuring every 3 and 4 year old in Pennsylvania has access to voluntary, high quality pre-K programs, including 51 percent who strongly favor. A 55 percent majority favor increasing state funding, including 38 who strongly favor, while just 26 percent oppose.

Voters are more likely to say Pennsylvania spends too little on pre-K education programs. A 40 percent plurality of voters says Pennsylvania spends too little, compared to just 9 percent who say Pennsylvania spends too much. Twenty-seven (27) percent say Pennsylvania spends about the right amount, and 24 percent are not sure.

Nearly half of voters favor increasing state funding even if it increases their taxes. 48 percent of voters favor increasing funding even if it increases their taxes, while 39 percent oppose and 14 percent are not sure.

Voters who are undecided on the race for Governor strongly support pre-K programs. Pre-K education is a higher priority for undecided voters (46 percent say top priority) than for voters overall (42 percent say top priority). Among those who are undecided:

  • 59 percent favor ensuring access to pre-K programs for all 3 and 4 year olds.
  • 55 percent favor increasing funding for pre-K programs for all 3 and 4 year olds.
  • A 44 percent plurality favor increasing funding even if it would increase their taxes.

# # #

Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research and Consulting designed and administered this survey that was conducted by telephone using professional interviewers between August 13 – 17, 2014. The survey reached a total of 400 Pennsylvania 2014 General Election Registered Likely Voters with oversamples of 100 Registered Likely Voters ages 50-64, 100 Registered Likely Voters over age 65, and 132 Registered Likely Voters in Pittsburgh, Northeast, Northwest, and the Philadelphia suburbs. Telephone numbers for the survey were drawn using a voter file sample. The data was weighted slightly by gender, education, race, party registration, and region to reflect the attributes of the actual population. The oversamples were weighted into the base. The margin of error for the total sample is +/-3.7%.

Download this memo as a PDF.





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Support Our Teachers

Support Our Teachers

This Labor Day, Pre-K for PA supports the great teachers who form the core of our high-quality pre-k programs.

Low wages for preschool staff are all too common in the industry, often resulting in high turnover rates and missed opportunities for professional development. If Pennsylvania is to provide access to high-quality pre-k for all children, then our early education professionals must be well-supported and adequately compensated for their work.

Thank a teacher for their hard work in preparing our youngest learners for success. And share the below graphic on Facebook and Twitter.

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“We’ll help teach her!”

“We’ll help teach her!”

Lorena, an early childhood educator from Mt. Pocono, shares her story as part of #100Stories100Days:

“Last year, I had a young girl in my class who was born in the United States, but her parents are Asian and spoke only Chinese at home. Her mother thought it would be a good idea for her to socialize and interact with other children, so she enrolled her in my preschool classroom.

“When she first arrived, she was very shy and couldn’t understand the other children, who spoke English. She cried for her mother, didn’t mingle or play with the other kids and just stood in the corner with her stuffed animal. At circle time, I told the other children that we have a new friend in our class. I asked them to look around at everyone in the circle and asked a question: ‘Are we all the same, or are we different?’

“The kids pointed out that we have different eye and hair colors. They said to me: ‘You are different too because you are Spanish and you teach us Spanish words.’ I told them that we have a new friend learning how to speak our language – and that is when one of my students suggested doing a poster of words and pictures like dog, cat, bird and pizza.

“‘We’ll help teach her,’ they told me.

“I gathered magazines, scissors, and glue sticks, and they cut out pictures and glued it onto the poster to make a word chart. They showed her the pictures, said the words and pointed to the objects. I then asked her parents to make a word chart in Chinese – they included 20 words, like hello, good-bye, boy and girl – and they came in to demonstrate how to pronounce each word. The kids loved learning Chinese, and were so excited to learn three languages at once.

“Within three weeks, she started saying words in English to the other children in the class, and even began speaking in sentences. She will be going to kindergarten this September.”

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Meet Sonja and Lailah Claxton

Meet Sonja and Lailah Claxton

Part of our #100days100stories countdown to Election Day. Share your story at prekforpa.org/join.

SONJA CLAXTON, PHILADELPHIA, PA
“I graduated in 2008, during the Great Recession, and was expecting my first child two months later. Each night, I put my baby, Lailah, to bed and stayed up for hours looking for work. I had no job prospects and decided instead to focus on caring for my newborn. We spent most of our days between the park and the library. She got her first library card at 6 months old, and almost every day we stopped in for new books.
“The economic strains were too much to bear for my husband, so we split and my daughter and I would soon find ourselves homeless and penniless. Despite the circumstances, we were always able to locate our closest library. But there were only so many trips to the library one could take. After spending a year at home with me, I recognized my daughter needed something more – to socialize with other children. I enrolled her in daycare, only to hear teachers screaming at children to go to the potty and watch children propped in front of the TV.
“I stumbled upon the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Early Head Start program, a home visitation program for low-income parents of children ages 0-3. During our time at the Early Head Start program, Lailah and I participated in socialization activities for families and children – including messy activities with paper and glue, sing-alongs and story time.
“I was soon employed but didn’t make enough to cover the cost of full-time pre-k. My counselors at Early Head Start encouraged me to apply for the federal Head Start program as well as Bright Futures and Pre-K Counts. Through Early Head Start, I learned about Keystone STARS and attended the region’s early childcare conference, hosted by the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC). I received an email in the summer of 2011 that Lailah had been accepted into the Pre-K Counts classroom at Parent Infant Center – an email I still have to this day.
“She was quiet and timid at the time, but I would soon find pictures of her in the PIC newsletter engaged in activities. She became a voracious reader. On weekends, she would gather our family together for circle time to share and explain the pages of her favorite books. She learned about countries around the world, how to manage her emotions and even how to count in Mandarin. More than anything else, she and I were relieved. She was free to explore, examine and question the world around her, and I was able to go back to work with ease knowing that she was getting the education and care she needed.
“When she graduated kindergarten, she was comfortable with the course work, passionate about being in the classroom and open to learning more. In just a few weeks, Lailah will enter the first grade – I could not be more proud or excited to see my daughter blossom – thanks in large part to high-quality pre-k and the power of reading.”		 Share on Facebook:

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