Pennsylvania Pre-K for All

1. Pennsylvania Pre-K for All How Pennsylvania Policymakers Should Increase Opportunities for All Families in the Commonwealth to Have Affordable Access to High Quality Early Care and Education Programs

2. Children are born ready to grow, ready to be valued, ready to learn. Fred Rogers

3. Overview • Pennsylvania lawmakers should pass the necessary legislation to provide all of the state’s families with access to comprehensive, high quality pre-K education and care

4. Benefits of Pre-K for All • Pre-K increases high school graduation rates • Pre-K helps children do better on standardized tests • Pre-K reduces grade retention • Pre-K reduces the number of children placed in special education • Pre-K reduces crime, delinquency and rates of teen pregnancy • Pre-K leads to greater employment and higher wages as adults • Every $1 invested in high quality Pre-K saves taxpayers up to $7

5. Pennsylvania Demographics • According to the 2000 US Census, there are 299,530 three- and four-year-olds who could benefit from state-funded Pre-K • Sixteen percent of Pa’s children under age 5 live in poverty • Only approximately 2/3rds of eligible children in PA attend Head Start. • Only 47% of low SES kindergarteners nationally attended center-based early education programs such as Head Start • 62% of children under the age of 6 in PA live with working parents • Median cost of child care for 4-year-olds in PA is $6800. That represents 10% of the median income for two-parent working families and 31% of the median income for single-parent working families.

6. Current Picture of Pre-K for All in Pennsylvania • In April 2002, Governor Schweiker convened the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Care and Education. • The Task Force set forth 13 recommendations • Many of those recommendations have been incorporated in Governor Rendell’s agenda for early childhood education

7. Recent Achievements • National recognition from the United Way of America for Keystone STARS • Approximately 61% of child care centers participate in Keystone STARS • Establishment of Early Learning Standards for Pre-K • Inclusion of Pre-K for 3-and 4-year-olds in Education Accountability Block Grant program • Establishment of the first-ever state investment in Head Start ($30 million in 2005-06) • Formation of the statewide Partnership for Quality Pre-Kindergarten • Initiation of teacher quality reform for all early childhood settings. • Pennsylvania’s participation in the national Build initiative

8. Issues: Quality • Continued and enhanced state funding of Keystone STARS • Incorporation of PA Early Learning Standards in Keystone STARS criteria • Incorporation of PA Early Learning Standards in Head Start programs and teacher preparation programs • NIEER quality standards

9. Coordination of School and Community-based Programs • Public school subcontracting model • Community-based model

10. Issue: Funding • Projected cost of Pre-K for All ranging from $2 billion to $2.7 billion annually • Coordination of resources under current programs and initiatives • State leadership and fiscal responsibility

11. All of the Commonwealth’s children deserve the opportunity to learn—and an educated citizenry is our most effective economic development tool. Decades of research make clear that if we expect our students to achieve at high levels, we must start them off early and start right. Early education and care provide a critical focus for our efforts. Governor Ed Rendell

12. Policy Recommendation: Access • Pennsylvania lawmakers should institute voluntary Pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds through legislation that would: • establish a system of accountability for compliance with quality standards, and • provide for state funding of school district administered programs

13. Policy Recommendation: Quality • Pennsylvania should require that all state-funded programs providing Pre-K demonstrate compliance with the PA Early Learning Standards, and as appropriate, Keystone STARS • Community-based centers providing contracted Pre-K services should be required to have STARS 3 or 4 rating • Head Start centers providing contracted Pre-K services should be required to participate in the Keystone STARS program

14. Policy is most effectively evident by where we put our money. Donna Cooper, Secretary of Policy & Planning Governor’s Office

15. Policy Recommendation: Funding • State-funded Pre-K for All 3- and 4-year-olds: Pennsylvania Pre-K Fund • State distribution of funding to school districts as restricted portion of basic education subsidy • Parity with K-12 per-pupil expenditures • School district responsibility for distribution of funding in school-based and/or community-based delivery systems

16. Policy Recommendation: Funding Sources of Revenue • Redirect funding from current programs and initiatives for early childhood and early care • Allocate funds from Tobacco Settlement, gaming, lottery, other special sources • Institute tax increase • Plan for special education savings • Plan with districts for local and private support

17. Overcoming Obstacles • Public engagement • Parents • Business and Community Leaders

18. Holding Policymakers Accountable • Sustained, unwavering commitment by PA’s governor and legislators • Comprehensive, data-driven system of tracking funding, program delivery, quality and school readiness outcomes • Ballot initiative for state-funded, high quality Pre-K for All should be considered • Widespread publication of benefits and outcomes of Pre-K for All of Pennsylvania’s 3- and 4-year-olds

19. The Answer • Research shows, and we concur, that comprehensive, high quality Pre-K for All may be the answer to most, if not all, of the problems facing public education