PRESS ROOM

Representative Margo Davidson: “High-quality Pre-K prepares our kids to succeed in school and in life,” Davidson said. “It helps schools by reducing grade repetition and special eduction costs. It saves the commonwealth and taxpayers in more costly services later — like prison.

“We’re trying to end the education-to-prison pipeline by making sure that children are ready to learn by grade 3.”

DAs John W. Peck and John J. Whelan: “…data compel our membership in the anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a statewide organization of more than 200 Pennsylvania district attorneys, police chiefs and sheriffs, to advocate for expanded access to Pennsylvania’s high-quality pre-K programs. Decades of research show that at-risk children who do not receive a high-quality early-childhood education are more likely to drop out of school, to be placed in special education, to never attend college and to be arrested for committing crime.”

DiNicola and Scott Jr.: Recently we formed the northwestern Pennsylvania coalition of the Pre-K for PA campaign. This statewide, nonpartisan campaign launched earlier this year. It is gaining momentum statewide among business leaders, law enforcement officials, educators, parents and taxpayers who understand that investing in high-quality pre-K now reaps a huge return on investment in the years ahead.

Spending $40 million to expand pre-kindergarten education for all children in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties would reverberate beyond the money going to classes and teachers, a new study claims.

An exciting week was book-ended by two events focused on the future. The first was the Economy League and United Way event on Pre-K for PA and the other was a panel on The Future of Work with Philadelphia University’s Natalie Nixon. Both events stirred my imagination about creative new ways to create social impact in our region in the coming decades. But with only 30% of our children getting access to high-quality early learning, I fear that the future of work — and of our region — is threatened.

Staff writer Lauren Hertzler asks: “…I couldn’t help but wonder, what exactly is “high-quality” pre-k? And is it worse to attend a low-performing preschool than it is to not go at all?”

Nick Scott, of the northwestern PA coalition of Pre-K for PA: “This is a no-brainer,” said Scott, vice president of Scott Enterprises and a member of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission. “We’re beyond the point where this is a debate about if pre-K works.”

Now, he said, is the time to get every 3- or 4-year-old child in the state into early education programs.

That’s the goal of the recently created Pre-K for PA campaign, chaired in northwestern Pennsylvania by Scott and Erie lawyer Ron DiNicola. The two announced the creation of the local version of the campaign Thursday morning.

Lower Merion officials are getting behind a statewide initiative that could help send more students to government-funded pre-kindergarten programs.

The Board of School Directors Monday night unanimously approved a resolution supporting increased state government funding for pre-K programs across Pennsylvania.
The Board of School Directors Monday night unanimously approved a resolution supporting increased state government funding for pre-K programs across Pennsylvania.

For every dollar Pennsylvania invests in high-quality pre-k education, the state sees a $1.79 return, according to a new report from ReadyNation/America’s Edge.

It is estimated that if Pennsylvania funded pre-k for all 3- and 4-year-olds, the investment would generate $800 million in additional goods and services and create nearly 28,000 jobs, according to the economic impact study.