Express Times: Letter to the Editor – YMCA Pre-K Count program a boon for families
July 3, 2018

After our fourth child was born, my husband and I focused on working hard in the businesses we owned, trying to keep up with our growing family’s needs. When our youngest was three, I number-crunched, hoping to find an affordable high quality preschool program. I wanted to continue to work and earn for my family while giving her the skills she needed to be kindergarten-ready. We found the Forks YMCA Education Center’s Pre-K Counts program and it was a blessing to our family at a very critical time.

I commend Gov. Tom Wolf and my legislators for their commitment to growth in the state’s expansion of pre-k in the 2018-19 state budget. The $25 million investment in pre-k will serve 2,600 more kids, which represents forward progress.

My daughter thrived in the Pre-K Counts program and is ready for kindergarten in the fall. The two years she has been in the program has afforded her Dad and I time to focus on our respective businesses. We are both back on a track after the economic downturn, and that is enabling us to build our businesses to where they can fully support our family’s current, and hopefully, future needs.

Jennifer Barnett

Forks Township