The Commonwealth rallies for students We thought we’d seen it all. We made clear we were fed up with politics as usual. Given the crushing economic impact of COVID-19 shutdowns statewide, we were bracing for a doomsday scenario for public...
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Early Learning
Cuts are a luxury we can’t afford–May 15, 2020
Cuts are a luxury we can't afford “Education is an investment and not a luxury.” When Mawa Lewis addressed state legislators on a video conference call, she spoke with candor and clarity, fighting for students at Morrisville High School in Bucks County....
Can teachers truly connect with students online?–April 24, 2020
Can teachers truly connect with students online? Yes. They absolutely can. This week saw Philadelphia schools roll out their online teaching resources, a complex and, of course, at times frustrating endeavor. We asked the PCCY team for their thoughts on what...
Overwhelmed parents, teachers get practical help–April 17, 2020
Overwhelmed parents, teachers get practical help When schools first shut down in March, it was a wake up call about how non-normal things were going to be. But the shock wore off quickly and the implications started to mount. What will happen to the school year...
Start Strong PA Fact Sheets
The unmet child care needs of Pennsylvania’s infants and toddlers are significant. Less than half the young children across the state are in high-quality programs, while less than a quarter of child care programs in the state actually meet high-quality standards. To...
Collapse of child care system endangers PA economy–March 27, 2020
Collapsing child care system is its own crisis We may not know how long shelter in place orders will remain in effect, but we do know that if they last longer than a month, the economy of Pennsylvania isn’t likely to rebound any time...
PA legislators trumped on child care–February 14, 2020
PA legislators trumped on child care [NOTE: Not knowing how to feel after the first two paragraphs of this newsletter is normal.] When President Trump released his proposed 2021 budget, he included $1 billion in increased funding for child...
It’s worse than it looks–September 20, 2019
It's worse than it looks... Want to know what’s worse than a new report that shows that eight out of ten of the Commonwealth’s kids eligible for child care subsidy go unserved? That figure doesn’t include the impact of a $36 million cut in...
An oasis of early learning in Feasterville–August 9, 2019
Star-struck and inspired in Bucks County Last week, PCCY visited Just Children Child Care Center (JCCCC) in Feasterville, Bucks County, where Beth Halpin, the Assistant Director was quick to brag that of the nine teachers working there, six have worked...
Why a $1B surplus has PA voters seeing red–June 28, 2019
Why a $1B surplus has PA voters seeing red This one’s really hard to swallow. State revenues are nearly a BILLION dollars higher than expected for this year. Next year, the fiscally conservative Senate bean-counters expect the state coffers will be more...