EARLY ED FUNDING FOCUS OF VISITORS
Reps. Quigley, Hennessey urged to continue support for Pre-K Counts
POTTSTOWN » When Pottstown’s two state representatives return to Harrisburg for budget talks in the coming weeks, they will do so with a deeper understanding of the benefits of last year’s $30 million increase in state funding for Pre-K Counts.
That understanding came as a result of visiting a Pre-K Counts-funded classroom at Franklin Elementary School Tuesday morning.
Both state Rep. Tom Quigley, R-146th Dist., and state Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-26th Dist., said they see the value in giving kids who might otherwise start kindergarten behind the curve, a leg up on the start of their educational careers.
“They deserve the same opportunities as other communities,” said Pottstown Schools Superintendent Stephen Ro-
driguez. “It’s about equity.”
And — advocates from Public Citizens for Children and Youth to the Pottstown School District and its landmark PEAK program hope — Quigley and Hennessey will also see value in supporting the $40 million more in Pre-K Counts funding Gov. Wolf has called for in his budget for the coming fiscal year.
“It looks like we’re going to have an easier year, the economy seems to be a brighter picture than last year and revenues are coming in,” said Hennessey. “We might have some money to spread around.”
“I’ve represented Pottstown since I was first elected and its great to see the PEAK program blossom and serve as a role model for the rest of the state,” said Quigley.
PEAK stands for Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten readiness and is now in its 10th year.
In addition to the Pre-K Counts-funded classrooms it now houses in Pottstown’s four elementary schools — up from one the prior year — PEAK also partners with local child care providers like the YMCA, YWCA, Montgomery Early Learning Center, Kindercare and Warwick Child Care, to ensure that students throughout Pottstown are learning the same lessons and using the same curriculum.
And while Pottstown has 42 additional classroom slots thanks to last year’s funding increase, “as soon as we put the word out, we’re in waiting list territory in no time,” said Rodriguez.
In Montgomery County alone, even with last year’s increase in funding, more than 4,700 3- and 4-year olds from lower-income households are eligible for Pre-K services, but have no access to them. That’s according to Donna Cooper, executive director of PCCY, which arranged for Tuesday morning’s visit at Franklin.
Statewide, the number of children eligible for PreK programs but who lack access tops $106,000, she said.
Evidence that Pre-K works, Cooper said, can be found in Oklahoma, where the City of Tulsa has provided quality early education for all its students who are not outperforming the rest of the state, which has followed their lead.
There is evidence here in Pottstown as well, said Rodriguez, who noted that since PEAK was initiated, the district’s special education numbers have stopped their constant rise.
But early education, and the success if breeds later on, is about more than just the needs of the students, it’s also about the success of Pennsylvania businesses, said Jim Waddington.
The director of strategy and business development for Sparton Corporation, Waddington is also a member of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission, and said “every business wants to hire the right people.”
Equally important to the technical knowledge that is a given in today’s job market, there is also the secondary element of being able to work with people on a team, he said.
“You’ve got to be able to work with people, and those socialization skills are important,” Waddington said. “If your employees don’t have them, it’s going to cost you money to train them, or you’re going to have to spend more money to go out and find and recruit them.”
It’s a better investment said Tim Phelps, executive director of the Transportation Management Association of Chester County,” who is also a member of Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Investment Commission.
“For every $1 you spend
In Montgomery County alone, even with last year’s increase in funding, more than 4,700 3- and 4-year olds from lower-income households are eligible for Pre-K services, but have no access to them. That’s according to Donna Cooper, executive director of PCCY, which arranged for Tuesday morning’s visit at Franklin.
on early education, you save $4 in other costs later on,” said Phelps.
Executive director of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce when PEAK began 10 years ago, Phelps is well familiar with the program.
“What’s being done here in Pottstown is exceptional, this is a five-star program,” he said.
“Zero to 5 is when those synapses are formed and if that child’s baby sitter is the television, you’re building a foundation on sand,” Phelps said. “But if you have them in high quality early education, you are setting them up for success. From 0 to 5, you learn to read and from 5 on, you read to learn.”
“Education funding is always a challenge,” said Phelps. “But these guys get it,” he said of Quigley and Hennessey. “They support a bipartisan approach to early learning.”
And the bottom line is, Waddington said simply “nothing happens without funding.”