NEWS ROOM
SWPA Chambers of Commerce Call on State Lawmakers to Fix the Child Care Teacher Shortage that is Limiting Care Options for Working Parents
Local chamber of commerce leaders, child care teachers and working parents gathered via Zoom to discuss how the ongoing child care teacher shortage, driven by unlivable wages, is forcing classrooms to close and leaving working families scrambling to find care. Participants urged lawmakers to prioritize child care in the 2025-2026 state budget by including Governor Shapiro’s proposal to invest $55 million in a new and recurring Child Care Recruitment and Retention line item to boost the pay of the Commonwealth’s child care teachers by $1,000.
PA Chambers of Commerce Call on State Lawmakers to Fix the Child Care Teacher Shortage that is Limiting Care Options for Working Parents
Local chamber of commerce leaders, child care teachers and working parents gathered in Philadelphia to discuss how the ongoing child care teacher shortage, driven by unlivable wages, is forcing classrooms to close and leaving working families scrambling to find care.
PennLive: OpEd: Pre-K is Progress We Can’t Afford to Lose
For more than two decades, Pennsylvania has been investing in our youngest learners.
Year after year, budget after budget, across party lines and administrations, we’ve taken meaningful steps forward in growing access to Head Start and Pre-K Counts to help more children thrive in their earliest years and setting the stage for future success.
PennLive: Oped: Get this Done – Pre-K for PA
Few issues in Pennsylvania have united Republicans and Democrats over the years like the prospect of ensuring that our youngest learners are ready to succeed through high-quality pre-k programs like Pre-K Counts and Head Start. In fact, a September 2023 Susquehanna Polling and Research poll showed that 94% of PA voters believe that early learning is important, and 71% support increasing state funding to serve more eligible children in pre-K programs.
PennLive: OpEd: Pre-K is Progress We Can’t Afford to Lose
For more than two decades, Pennsylvania has been investing in our youngest learners.
Year after year, budget after budget, across party lines and administrations, we’ve taken meaningful steps forward in growing access to Head Start and Pre-K Counts to help more children thrive in their earliest years and setting the stage for future success.
PennLive: Oped: Get this Done – Pre-K for PA
Few issues in Pennsylvania have united Republicans and Democrats over the years like the prospect of ensuring that our youngest learners are ready to succeed through high-quality pre-k programs like Pre-K Counts and Head Start. In fact, a September 2023 Susquehanna Polling and Research poll showed that 94% of PA voters believe that early learning is important, and 71% support increasing state funding to serve more eligible children in pre-K programs.
MEDIA CONTACT
Kate Philips
215-850-4647
kphilips@prekforpa.org
EARLY EDUCATION EXPERTS
If you are a reporter looking for comment or background from one of our early education experts, please Kate Philips at kphilips@prekforpa.org.
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PennLive: OpEd: Pre-K is Progress We Can’t Afford to Lose
For more than two decades, Pennsylvania has been investing in our youngest learners.
Year after year, budget after budget, across party lines and administrations, we’ve taken meaningful steps forward in growing access to Head Start and Pre-K Counts to help more children thrive in their earliest years and setting the stage for future success.
With Allegheny County and Pa. desperate for more pre-K teachers, Gov. Shapiro’s budget proposal offers some hope
A historic staffing crisis is causing classrooms and entire programs across the state to decrease their capacity or close, leaving working families without access to critical early learning programs. Less than half of eligible children in Pennsylvania attend a high-quality preschool program.