York Officials Celebrate Expansion of High-Quality Pre-K, Urge State to Continue Investing in Increased Access
YORK, PA (Dec. 2, 2014) – State, county and city officials today helped mark the opening of two pre-kindergarten classrooms at the York YWCA, but noted the new classrooms are just a small step toward serving thousands of young learners in York County who lack access to high-quality pre-k.
The new classrooms were made possible by the infusion of an additional $10 million in funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts in the state’s fiscal 2014-15 budget. Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP) are the primary state-level funding sources for high-quality pre-k in Pennsylvania.
York County Commissioner Chris Reilly said the new pre-k classrooms are a step in the right direction, but noted access to high-quality pre-k in York County is still among the worst in state.
“Only 9 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds in York County have access to publicly funded, high quality pre-k – leaving more than 9,000 of our county’s 3- and 4-year-olds without access each year,” Reilly said. “This is simply unacceptable.”
Statewide, only 1 in 6 of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds benefit from publicly funded, high-quality pre-k, leaving more than 200,000 young learners missing out. This lack of access to high-quality pre-k is especially troubling considering the proven benefits it has for children, schools and communities. A large body of research shows children who benefit from high-quality pre-k:
- Enter kindergarten with stronger literacy, language, math and social/emotional skills;
- Are less likely to need special education services, less likely to repeat grades, and more likely to graduate and enroll in college.
- Over a lifetime, these young learners will see stronger employment opportunities and increased earning potential, and they will be less likely to end up on the wrong side of the law.
York County District Attorney Thomas Kearney, York City Police Chief Wesley Kahley, and York County Sheriff Richard Keuerleber stressed the benefits high-quality pre-k has in reducing disruptive or anti-social behaviors that, if unaddressed, can lead to delinquent or criminal behavior. All three are members of the statewide anti-crime organization FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS. Kearney noted research has shown kids who attend high-quality early learning programs are dramatically less likely to commit crime and more likely to graduate high school.
“A review of the education statistics of Pennsylvania’s inmate population reveals that more than half of inmates have not graduated high school,” Kearney said. “This is more evidence that there is a clear choice to either educate or incarcerate -and it is imperative that education must start early.”
Chief Kahley added: “The cost-benefit studies regarding high-quality pre-k show that for every dollar we invest in high-quality programs like the York YWCA, we see a resulting long-term savings of about $17. The bulk of these cost savings arise from reductions in criminal justice savings.”
The statewide, nonpartisan Pre-K for PA campaign was launched in January with 10 founding partner organizations and has since grown to more than 500 supporting organizations and about 10,000 individuals who support the goal of expanding access to high-quality pre-k through stronger state-level investments.
In York County, supporters of the Pre-K for PA campaign include: York YWCA; York County United Way; York Community Foundation; various YMCA’s throughout York County; York JCC; York School of Technology; and various early learning providers throughout the York region that share the vision that all 3- and 4-year-olds should have access to high-quality pre-K.
Pre-K for PA is an issue campaign supported by thousands of 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. While the campaign neither endorses nor opposes candidates, it advocates on behalf of this vision for Pennsylvania’s children, schools and communities. For more information, visit prekforpa.org.
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Contact:
Michael Race (Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children), 717-236-5680 or mrace@papartnerships.org
Bruce Clash (FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS), 717-385-5300 or bclash@fightcrime.org
Kate Philips, 215-850-4647
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Know that your gift will also help promote the expansion of Pre K for all 3- and 4-year-olds in Pennsylvania. Together we can celebrate Giving Tuesday and make a difference to young learners.
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High-quality pre-k “has just done amazing things” for my son.
We wanted to share a quick story with you from a parent who has seen the benefits of high-quality pre-k.
On Tuesday morning, representatives from the Pre-K for PA campaign were the featured guests on a central Pennsylvania talk show, making the case for why Pennsylvania needs to drastically expand access to high-quality pre-k for the commonwealth’s 3- and 4-year-olds. A mom named Julie from York County called in to share how she found an affordable Pre-K Counts program for her son, who she feared might not be prepared to succeed in kindergarten. In Julie’s own words …
“It has just done amazing things. I was against (enrolling him in) kindergarten because I just knew that he wouldn’t be able to handle being in a classroom that long. And now, no worries whatsoever after him being able to be in this program. He didn’t need it for the academics. He needed it for the social, he needed it for the emotional stuff. … He has just succeeded so well in this program that I wish it was available more.”
We wish it were more available too, Julie. That’s why we’re working hard to make the case for increasing state investments in high-quality pre-k programs like Pre-K Counts and Head Start.
And that’s why we needed voices like Julie’s – and yours – to tell Gov.-elect Tom Wolf and the General Assembly that investments in high-quality pre-k need to be a priority for 2015.
Military strengthened by early learning
BY DAVID W. KUNKEL AND THOMAS J. WILSON III
Centre Daily Times Op-Ed
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.
Dear Governor-elect Tom Wolf:
Congratulations on your victory in Tuesday’s General Election.
Throughout this election season, supporters of the Pre-K for PA campaign have been working tirelessly to make increased access to high-quality pre-kindergarten a top priority among candidates for governor and the General Assembly. Given our efforts, we were pleased to see you outline a vision for expanding pre-k in the commonwealth because, as your campaign stated, “too much of the battle for educational achievement is lost before our children enter kindergarten.”
As you likely know, only 1 in 6 of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds benefit from high-quality, publicly funded pre-k, despite its many proven, cost-saving benefits to our schools, our workforce and our communities. This means nearly a quarter of a million Pennsylvania children each year miss out on the lifelong benefits of this critical early learning resource. We share your publicly stated goal of making high-quality pre-k available to every child in Pennsylvania because we know it: |
- Improves literacy, language and math skills that keep young learners on track to success as they enter kindergarten.
- Reduces special education costs, grade repetition and dropout rates, while increasing the likelihood of high school graduation.
- Generates savings in social and criminal justice costs and spurs economic activity.
- Has the support of a strong majority of Pennsylvanians in both major political parties, according to several polls conducted this year.
Thankfully, your vision for expanding early learning opportunities also is shared by the General Assembly’s large Early Childhood Education Caucus – a bipartisan, bicameral caucus that has proven critical to increasing Pennsylvania’s pre-k investments over the years.
As you prepare for the challenging work ahead in 2015, the Pre-K for PA campaign stands ready to work with you and members of the General Assembly on increasing the commonwealth’s investments in high-quality pre-k so we can reap the many benefits it offers to our children, our taxpayers, our economy and our commonwealth as a whole. We all have a great deal of work to do to make high-quality pre-k available to all families that want it for their children, but we are confident we can accomplish this goal together under your leadership.
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. |
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New Polls Show Strong Support for High-Quality Pre-K
Surveys indicate likely PA voters continue to prioritize early learning opportunities
Click here to contact Pre-K for PA’s media relations team.
With Election Day fast approaching, two recent statewide polls of likely Pennsylvania voters demonstrate consistent and strong support for high-quality pre-kindergarten programming and voter prioritization for pre-k has grown. The polls are consistent with a previously released survey that also shows increased voter support for pre-k in the span of just one year.
The two new polls, conducted separately by Pennsylvania-based polling firms Terry Madonna Opinion Research* and Susquehanna Polling & Research (SP&R), show that growing majorities favor access to high-quality pre-k for every 3- and 4-year old child in the Commonwealth. According to the polling:
- 63 percent consider pre-k a top or high priority (Terry Madonna Opinion Research, September 2014)
- 58 percent consider pre-k a high or medium priority (SP&R, October 2014)
“With just 15 days until Election Day, these latest poll results further cement the sentiment among Pennsylvania voters that pre-k is a top priority when they head to the voting booth in November,” said Steve Wray, executive director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, a Pre-K for PA coalition member. “Each new poll conducted on the topic shows a strong majority of voters wanting the next Pennsylvania governor to improve access to pre-k.”
Consistent with other recent poll results, voters continue to prioritize pre-k as a top concern. An August 2014 Lake/Bellwether survey found that 58% of likely voters consider pre-k a top priority, an increase from 50% in December 2013. The two Lake/Bellwether polls were commissioned by Pre-K for PA and used the same methodology.
A summary of the poll findings can be viewed on Pre-K for PA’s website at www.prekforpa.org/priority.
Pre-K for PA is an issue campaign supported by thousands of 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. While the campaign neither endorses nor opposes candidates, it advocates on behalf of this vision for Pennsylvania’s children, schools and communities.
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