New Setback Doesn’t Diminish Local Commitment to Preschool Funding
Dec. 10 was a day of mixed emotions for advocates of early childhood education in Pittsburgh. Early that morning, it was learned that Pennsylvania would not receive the $20 million in funding that it had applied for under a federal grant program. The news came as a blow, especially since U.S. Education Secretary chose Pittsburgh as the place to announce the $250 million grant program in August and because of the time and energy Mayor Bill Peduto has devoted to the subject.
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Pre-K Investment Equated to Economic Growth
The amount of public assistance currently available for pre-K in Pennsylvania is only enough to help one in six children access high-quality programs, according to Pre-K for PA, a nonprofit aimed at expanding preschool access.
Families can spend more than a year on waiting lists to see if they qualify for subsidies — Pittsburgh Public Schools alone has about 200 children on its pre-K waiting list — but the window is small for those ages 3 to 5, the years when it’s recommended kids attend a pre-K program.
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Pre-K for PA Campaign Pushes Governor-Elect Wolf, Legislature to Invest in 4-Year-Olds
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A top ranking U.S. Department of Education official and members of a statewide campaign to increase early learning opportunities for children swapped stories and strategies on Thursday at a Philadelphia City Hall summit.
The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Early Learning, Libby Doggett, says there is empirical evidence that the early learning years – for children 3 and 4 (years old) – are so very important.
“You have education research,” she says, “economic research, developmental psychology research, neuro-science research, medical research.”
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Pre-K for PA Partners Push for Greater Access to Pre-K at Philadelphia Mayor’s Event
PA’s Missed Opportunity for Federal Grant Would Have Served 2,300 PA Kids
Philadelphia, PA – Several founding members of the statewide Pre-K for PA campaign led an early learning summit today hosted by Mayor Michael Nutter, including The United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, and Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC).
The event, an opportunity for business and civic leaders to discuss the importance of expanding local access to higher quality pre-k, comes a day after federal grants were awarded to 18 states for the development or expansion of pre-k. Pennsylvania had applied for a share of the federal funding, but missed out on a $20 million, 4-year federal grant that could have provided high-quality pre-k for an additional 2,314 Pennsylvania 4-year-olds each year.
“Thinking about more than 2,000 kids missing out on an opportunity to begin early learning, we can’t help being disappointed,” said Steve Wray, Executive Director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia. “The missed opportunity for these kids also placed a spotlight on the enormous unmet needs among early learners in Pennsylvania. Today, 70% of Pennsylvania 3-and 4-year olds don’t have access to quality pre-k.
“The time has come for Pennsylvania to take action on behalf of its future leaders,” Wray continued. “Pre-K for PA and its thousands of supporters are calling on Gov.-elect Tom Wolf and the legislature to make this the top legislative priority in 2015. Each year Pennsylvania lawmakers delay making a serious investment in early learning, more than 200,000 kids are starting school behind their classmates.”
The federal government did announce on Wednesday $11.5 million in Head Start funding for six Pennsylvania grantees. This funding will serve infant/toddler populations up to age 3.
“The grant is welcome news because it becomes base funding for early Head Start, and Pennsylvania will receive that amount annually,” said Blair Hyatt, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Head Start Association. “But, if pre-k continues to be underfunded in Pennsylvania it means that once these children turn three it is very likely they will not move on to a high-quality pre-k classroom, which would be an enormous loss for them developmentally. In order for these children to continue growing in their healthy development, we need the legislature to invest in pre-k for all 3-and 4-year-olds.”
Pre-K for PA is a nonpartisan issue campaign supported by individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania who believe investing in our children is the right choice and an urgent necessity. The campaign’s vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. Campaign supporters are urging Democratic Gov.-elect Wolf and the Republican-led General Assembly to work together to enact a multi-year plan to accomplish this vision.
Editor’s Note: The following programs would have benefitted under the Federal Expansion Grants:
- Big Beaver Falls Area School District
- Erie City School District
- School District of Lancaster
- Delaware County Intermediate Unit #25
- Bradford Tioga Head Start
- Allegheny Intermediate Unit #3
- Chester County Intermediate Unit #19
- ARIN Intermediate Unit #28
- Seton Hill Child Services, Inc.
- School District of Philadelphia
- Berks Community Action Program
- Community Action Program of Mercer County
- Greater Nanticoke Area School District
- Community Services for Children
- Pittsburgh Board of Education
- Cen-Clear, Inc.
- Pottstown Area School District
- Child Development, Inc.
- Keystone Human Service, aka Capital Area Head Start
- STEP, Inc. aka Lycoming-Clinton Head Start
- Erie City School District
- Pocono Service for Families and Children
- School District of the City of York
- McKeesport Area School District
- Kings College
- Wilkinsburg Borough School District
- PIC of Fayette & Westmoreland Counties
- Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries
- Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit #13
- Chester-Upland School District
- Pathone Inc.
- Scranton Lackawanna Human Development
For more information please visit www.prekforpa.org.
Founding Member of ‘Pre-K for PA’ Attends White House Summit on Early Education
WASHINGTON D.C.: The executive director of the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC), Michelle Figlar, traveled to Washington D.C. alongside Mayor William Peduto today to attend a White House Summit on early education.
“Each day I work alongside many of the commonwealth’s early education advocates fighting to ensure that our children are given the necessary tools to succeed, so to represent them at such an historic event is an indescribable honor,” said Figlar, who also serves as co-chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Early Education. “The summit is a significant opportunity to discuss the lifelong benefits of early learning and I am optimistic the work done today will help precipitate stronger public investments in early learning.”
At the summit, President Obama announced several grant awards to help 18 states develop or expand pre-k programs. Pennsylvania had applied for a pre-k expansion grant, but was not among today’s grant recipients, further underscoring the need for stronger investments in high-quality pre-k at the state level.
“Currently, only about 1 in 6 of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds has access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-k, despite its many proven benefits to kids, schools and communities,” Figlar said. “If we want to make the most of all that high-quality pre-k offers, we need to boost public investments in it – and if there isn’t funding available at the federal level, we need to make sure the state prioritizes it as part of Pennsylvania’s budget.”
Mayor Peduto praised Figlar for her organization’s commitment to early learning programs.
“Michelle’s experience and expertise advocating for increased early education makes her the perfect choice to attend this important national summit,” Mayor Peduto said. “The evidence is clear that for every dollar we invest in early childhood education, we see a rate of return of $7 or more through a reduced need for spending on other services, such as remedial education, grade repetition, and special education, as well as increased productivity and earnings for these children as adults.”
The White House Summit brought together a broad array of stakeholders from the philanthropic community, business leaders, elected officials and education advocates committed to expanding access to high-quality early education. The summit builds on the president’s call in his 2013 State of the Union address to expand access to high-quality early childhood education to every child in America.
As part of that effort, the president proposed a series of new investments that will establish a continuum of high-quality early learning for a child – beginning at birth and continuing to age 5. The proposal includes extending and expanding evidence-based, voluntary home visiting, growing the supply of effective early learning opportunities for young children through Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships, and increasing access to high-quality pre-k.
PAEYC is a principal partner in the Pre-K for PA campaign, a nonpartisan issue campaign supported by individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania who believe that investing in our children is the right choice and an urgent necessity. The campaign’s vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. To that end, campaign supporters are urging Democratic Gov.-elect Tom Wolf and the Republican-led General Assembly to work together to enact a multi-year plan to accomplish this vision.
Along with PAEYC, the coalition was created by statewide partners including: the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children; Economy League of Greater Philadelphia; Public Citizens for Children and Youth; United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey; Fight Crime, Invest in Kids; Mission: Readiness; Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children; Pennsylvania Head Start Association; and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
For more information please visit www.paeyc.org and www.prekforpa.org.
PAEYC’s Michelle Figlar Represents Pittsburgh at White House Summit on Early Education
Washington, D.C.: The Executive Director for The Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) and Principal Partner in Pre-K for PA campaign, Michelle Figlar, travels to Washington, D.C. today to attend a White House Summit on early education on behalf of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.
EVENT: White House Summit on Early Education
President Obama will host a White House Summit on Early Education. The Summit will bring together a broad coalition of philanthropic, business, education, advocacy and elected leaders, as well as other stakeholders who are committed to expanding access to high-quality early education. This summit builds on the President’s call in his 2013 State of the Union address to expand access to high-quality early childhood education to every child in America.
Michelle Figlar, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC), will be in attendance as the Chair of Mayor William Peduto’s Early Education Task Force.
WHO: Michelle Figlar, PAEYC Executive Director
DATE: Wednesday December 10, 2014
TIME: 9:00 AM
WHERE: The White House, Washington, DC
EDITOR’S NOTE: Media interested in scheduling an interview with Michelle Figlar after the White House Summit are asked to please contact David Caliguiri at 412-613-7266.
Pre-K for PA is a statewide collaboration led in Western PA by the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children. The coalition is joined by statewide partners including: the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Public Citizens for Children and Youth, the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Fight Crime, Invest in Kids, Mission: Readiness, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, Pennsylvania Head Start Association and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
The Pre-K for PA -K for PA is a nonpartisan issue campaign supported by individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania who believe investing in our children is the right choice and an urgent necessity. The campaign’s vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. Campaign supporters are urging Democratic Gov.-elect Tom Wolf and the Republican-led General Assembly to work together to enact a multi-year plan to accomplish this vision.
For more information please visit www.paeyc.org and www.prekforpa.org.
