NORRISTOWN— Leaders from the coalition Pre-K for PA released statistics Thursday morning saying 12,731 out of 19,320 of Montgomery County’s 3- and 4-year-olds, or 66 percent, do not have access to high-quality pre-K.

The statistics were released as part of an initiative to provide reports on the status of early care for each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

Montgomery County’s percentage of children without access high-quality early care equals that of Philadelphia, but is less than Bucks and Chester counties, which have 72 and 73 percent without access, respectively.

In addition, only 5 percent of Montgomery County’s children have access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-K, according to the report.

The report also indicated that 5,973 of the county’s 3- and 4-year-olds, or 31 percent, live in families below 300 percent of the poverty level, or $70,650 for a family of four, and therefore qualify for publicly subsidized pre-K programs such as Pre-K Counts and Head Start.

For Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, the numbers regarding access need to be reversed so Pennsylvania can benefit from the economic and cultural advantages of providing high-quality early care.

“We have to make this change, and we have to do it quickly because with each passing year more children are missing out,” Benso said in a conference call during which leaders of the coalition discussed the new county by county reports. “The benefits of pre-K cover a broad spectrum from economic to social.”

Arguing for the both the short- and long-term economic advantages of increased access to pre-K was Steve Wray, executive director of The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, who said monetary investment in quality early care has been proven to provide significant return to local and state economies. Every dollar Pennsylvania spends on early care would circulate more than two dollars through the state’s economy, he said.

“We’re encouraging civic and business leaders to get involved with this cause,” Wray said, citing other states that have benefited economically by pushing for 100 percent access for all children. “Pennsylvania can’t afford not to.”

One of the main economic advantages of offering high-quality care early on in child development is that it saves on costs for remedial classes and special education by insuring students are at grade-level on time and do not have to repeat grades.

Pennsylvania will also save money by keeping children out of the criminal system according to Bruce Clash, Pennsylvania state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a bipartisan, nonprofit anti-crime organization made up of district attorneys, sheriffs, police officers and local leaders.

Significant amounts of money are spent every year across the state to track down and prosecute criminals. Once in the system, the state spends even more money to keep criminals off the streets.

“We can’t arrest and imprison our way out of the crime problem,” Clash said. “Pennsylvania’s commitment to stop criminals must be matched by a commitment to keeping kids in school and out of the criminal system. Decades of longitudinal research show that children who have access to pre-K are more likely to stay out of the criminal system.”

The lack of access, according to Clash, puts children at risk instead of investing in helping to make law-abiding productive citizens.

Michelle Figlar, executive director of Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, said that the difference between kindergartens who have access and who do not are drastic.

Kindergartners who have access are more ready to be with a large group of children, take turns, be patient, quickly grasp a new routine and have a robust vocabulary that results in earlier reading proficiency, Figlar said. Additionally, high-quality pre-K is aligned with the curriculum of kindergarten, which provides a smooth transition for children.

“We will use this data to tell a story as to why access is essential,” Figlar said about the effort to arm county representatives with information to share with political candidates and school board members. “It’s about informing parents, teachers, and public officials.”

Pre-K for PA was initially supported by 10 core founding organizations when it launched its campaign on Jan. 23. Since that time, 1,500 individuals and 100 organizations have pledged their support and joined the cause, helping to raise $3 million in funds. The founding organizations are Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, Ciudadanos públicos para la infancia y la juventud, the Pittsburgh, Delaware Valley and Penn Associations for the Education of Young Children, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Mission: Readiness Military Leaders for Kids, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and Pennsylvania Head Start Association.

For information for each individual counties, visit the Pre-K for PA www.prekforpa.org.

For more information about early care in Montgomery County is available in a report from Public Citizens for Children and Youth, which may be seen at www.timesherald.com.

More statistics about early care and crime, provided by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, are available at www.timesherald.com.

The Times Herald – March 13, 2014 – Leer artículo en línea