MEDIA REPORTS
Delaware County Daily Times: Event Explores Benefits of Early Education Programs
Upper Darby Superintendent, Richard Dunlap, reads to preschool students to highlight the importance of high quality early childhood education programs.
MetroKids: The Pre-K for PA Campaign
“I’m thankful that my child was exposed to an amazing curriculum in pre-Kindergarten,” says the Philadelphia mom, who says she could not have afforded preschool without financial assistance. “As a low-income parent and single mother, I knew that early childhood education was important, and I noticed a difference between my child’s development with a supportive system and without.”
Citizens’ Call: Cheltenham Schools Superintendent, Other Education Leaders, Assert Pre-K Priority
PA’s grassroots advocacy campaign for a statewide program of quality pre-kindergarten education services recently won the endorsement of Cheltenham Superintendent Natalie Thomas. Pre-K for PA, which aims to be a bullhorn for the notion that every three and four-year-old in the state should have an open door to an education program of high standards, has gained the support of more than two dozen PA school superintendents, including Thomas, who signed an open letter calling for state investment in high-quality pre-k.
GoErie.com: Erie County Council expected to call for pre-K funding
Erie County Council is poised to show its support for a new statewide early childhood education plan.
Councilmen Phil Fatica and Andre Horton have co-sponsored a resolution on council’s Tuesday meeting agenda that asks the state Legislature to increase funding for pre-K programs across Pennsylvania as part of the Pre-K for PA campaign.
Philadelphianeighborhoods.com: Data Shows Lack of Quality Pre-K Childcare
Data released in March suggests residents in South Philadelphia west of Broad Street severely lack access to quality pre-kindergarten care.
The Childcare Map is an interactive tool that allows people to search an area of Philadelphia and view options for early childcare. The data comes from Fund for Quality, which aims to expand availability to quality early learning centers in Philadelphia for low-income families.
ABC Erie Jet 24 Action News: Former Govs Show Support for Pre-K Expansion
Former Governors Ed Rendell and Mark Schweiker spoke to local educators, elected leaders, and community members about a need for universal pre-k education in Pennsylvania. This morning a Pre-K for Pa. rally focused on why support for early education is so important. Campaign officials told us that it’s been proven that pre-k education can change lives and the community.
Mom’s Rising: Pre-K in PA Crosses Party Lines
Early childhood education continues to receive growing support from within Pennsylvania. Through the statewide Pre-K for PA campaign, educators and community leaders are not the only ones expressing a commitment to investing in the state’s youngest learners.
Former Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and Former Gov. Mark Schweiker (R) toured the state from Erie to Philadelphia to encourage their state leaders to commit to pre-k for all Pennsylvania 3 & 4 year olds by 2018.
GoErie.com: Rendell, Schweiker to stop Monday in Erie
Former Pennsylvania Govs. Ed Rendell and Mark Schweiker will visit Erie on Monday to urge more access to quality prekindergarten education for children ages 3 and 4.
The event is scheduled at 9 a.m. at the United Way of Erie County, 420 W. Sixth St.
LevittownNow: 72% of Bucks Children Will Not Be Ready for Kindergarten in the Fall
…no matter how hard parents in Bucks County have tried to give their child all the things needed to step into school, roughly 72% of Bucks County’s children will not be completely ready or prepared for Kindergarten this fall, experts say.
Message Delivered
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. 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.
