OPINION PAGES

For a city plagued by a devastatingly high poverty rate (one of the highest in the nation), pre-K is not an option – it’s a critical equalizer. Neuroscientists attest that 80 to 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed in the first five years of life. Early education can enable our most vulnerable children to break the cycle of poverty by capitalizing on the tremendous learning potential of 3- and 4-year-olds during this critical time in their development.

We invest for one reason: It “gets late early.” By age 5, 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed. It is a small window of opportunity with huge possibilities and potential, but it closes quickly. We also know high-quality pre-K is not accessible to many of our young learners who need it. Bucks County is home to 14,000 3- and 4-year-olds. Only a small fraction of these children are enrolled in publicly funded pre-K programs. Many of those missing out are those at greatest risk of academic failure. In fact, last year, 4,446 kids in Bucks County lacked access to a publicly funded, high-quality pre-K program.

The Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way has long made early learning and school readiness priority issues. We do this through United Way programs like Wee Read, which sends volunteers into our local WIC offices to read to children and distribute information; Every Baby Needs a Lap Top (your lap, not a computer), which teaches parents the importance of reading, singing and talking to their baby; Early Learning Investment Committee, a regional group of business leaders which advocates for investment in early learning; and pre-K scholarships.

A recent report by a children’s advocacy organization in Harrisburg shined a bright light on the alarming condition of childhood education in Pennsylvania.

If Pennsylvania were to follow through on the investment strategy proposed, we could make publicly funded, high-quality pre-K available to more than 40 percent of our 3- and 4-year-olds by 2019, compared to fewer than 20 percent who benefited in 2013.

Well, 12 months have marched by, and the headlines remain depressing and so familiar they make you feel like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day” – Pennsylvania is falling behind the rest of the nation when it comes to pre-K education.