72% of Bucks Children Will Not Be Ready for Kindergarten in the Fall, Educators Say

You’ve managed to get through the first couple years of your child’s life unscathed. From mid-night wake ups, potty training, and the never-ending charade of carting your child around- to play dates, to the sitters, the doctor, to dance or soccer practice. You’ve watched them grow up right before your eyes, you have a hard time believing that they truly are as old as their birth certificate says. You love your child, you see them as intelligent, creative, witty, full of spunk, the world at their feet. Chances are nearly every parent has these feelings as they make the first step in their child’s education to register them for Kindergarten. However no matter how hard parents in Bucks County have tried to give their child all the things needed to step into school, roughly 72% of Bucks County’s children will not be completely ready or prepared for Kindergarten this fall, experts say.

That number may seem too high. But in fact, only 28% of children in Bucks have access to high-quality Pre-K, only 6% of which is publicly funded. That means majority of the counties children will enter Kindergarten without some of the necessary skills to survive there.

While there are some opportunities for families to get their child enrolled in a high-quality Pre-K program, of the 14,384 three and four year old children in Bucks, 37% of them live in families 300% below the poverty line. Despite its benefits, far too many families cannot afford to enroll their kids in high-quality Pre-K programs and often resort to programs that lack elements essential to their child’s success out of dire necessity. Since nearly three out of four families depend upon childcare in order to work, what real choice do they have?

These low rated programs lack the staff, experience, and credentials to establish and improve a child’s early literacy, language, math, and social/emotional skills. Skills that Keystone STAR 3 and 4 rated schools seek to improve each and every day.

Even if every parent could afford to send their child to a top notch early childhood education center, there aren’t enough seats to fit the bill, since only about 18% of the seats in private child care settings in Bucks are in programs that are considered high-quality.

The good news is that 18% remains higher than many other counties, and that county families with child care subsidy have trended away from using unlicensed, relative/neighbor care. With the help of publicly funded program Pre-K Counts, the percentage of 4-year-olds in 2012-2013 with proficient academic and social skills, more than tripled to 82%. Children participating in Head Start Supplemental saw their proficient academic and social skills increase more than six-fold.

Pre-K for PA announced a coalition in January to ensure every child has access to learn in a high-quality Pre-K institution. They claim through research that their really is no bad side to providing all children with this opportunity to learn.

According to Pre-K for PA, high quality education for all students reduces grade repetition by as much as a third through 8th grade, reduces special education placements by nearly half through 2nd grade, and increases the likelihood of high school graduation and college enrollment.

High-quality Pre-K education for all doesn’t just mean a shift in our public schools, but in our communities as well. It preserves taxpayer dollars by decreasing dropout rates, boosts the economy through increased lifetime earnings, and saves taxpayers’ money by decreasing crime and incarceration.

Invest in Kids points out that Pennsylvania spends about $35,000 a year on each of its more than 50,000 inmates.

“Companies are having difficulty finding employees with the skills businesses need… An unprepared work force comes at a cost to society and the economy,” said Lloyd Lamm, a regional banking executive for First National Bank of Pennsylvania. “When you factor in the positive results of quality early education programs – less special education, less grade repetition, more earning potential, less reliance on social services and less involvement in crime – the return on investment is up to $17 for every $1 invested.”

While Governor Corbett’s proposed budget maintains Child Care Assistance and Head Start at fiscal year 2013-2014 levels, he proposes increases in state funding for Pre-K Counts and Early Intervention. Advocates point out that the proposed spending for Early Childhood is still down 10% from the 2011 fiscal year, and Child Care Subsidy is down 16%.

Early Childhood Action Day is Tuesday June 3 in Harrisburg where advocates will visit the State Capital to urge increased support for children and parents.

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Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts was enacted into law by Act 45 of 2007 (and amended in 2008 and 2010) amending the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P. S. §§ 25-2501—25-2599.3). Its purpose is to expand the number of children who have access to a high-quality pre-kindergarten program. The standards for the program ensure a high return on the investment made in preparing young children for school and help close the achievement gap between groups of students in the K-12 educational system.

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Head Start is a national program administered by the Office of Head Start within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Head Start programs provide comprehensive services for low-income children from birth to entry into kindergarten.

Head Start currently receives more than $6.8 billion in funds and serves more than 906,000 low-income children and families nationwide. The program is child-centered, family-focused, comprehensive, and community-based. Head Start services are designed to address developmental goals for children, employment and self-sufficiency goals for adults, and support for parents in their work and child-caring roles.

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Keystone STARS is an initiative of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) to improve, support, and recognize the continuous quality improvement efforts of early learning programs in Pennsylvania.

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Pre-K for PA is an issue campaign supported by individuals and organizations across Pennsylvania who believe that investing in our children is the right choice and an urgent necessity. Our vision is that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality Pre-K. We will not endorse nor oppose candidates, but rather we will advocate on behalf of this vision for Pennsylvania’s children, schools and communities.