NEWS ROOM
New Poll Reveals Dramatic Bipartisan Voter Support for Increased State Funding for Child Care & Pre-K Programs
Just as the Pennsylvania 2025-26 state budget negotiations begin; partners of the Early Learning PA Coalition are releasing new polling data showing strong voter support for early childhood care and education programs and increased state funding to strengthen and grow these services.
Pennsylvanians Overwhelmingly Support Funding for Head Start Even as Federal Funding for Program is Slashed and Faces Elimination
83% of PA Voters Support Funding Head Start HARRISBURG (April 17, 2025) - Head Start provides an invaluable service to more than 750,000 children across all 50 states. In Pennsylvania alone, Head Start serves nearly 30,000 children at 806 centers and employs almost...
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.
Northeast Times: Op-Ed: Teaching Our Youngest Children Deserves a Living Wage
We are educators, who help young children develop cognitively, physically, emotionally and academically – with benefits to themselves and society that last as long as they live. We are qualified and we do quality work. We deserve to be able to make a decent, living wage doing it.
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.
Northeast Times: Op-Ed: Teaching Our Youngest Children Deserves a Living Wage
We are educators, who help young children develop cognitively, physically, emotionally and academically – with benefits to themselves and society that last as long as they live. We are qualified and we do quality work. We deserve to be able to make a decent, living wage doing it.
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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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.
Bedford Gazette: Education caucus discusses teacher shortages
The state’s Early Childhood Education Caucus hosted a rally with child care and pre-K students, teachers and parents as well as other advocates to underscore the worsening impacts of the commonwealth’s early learning teacher shortage.