Richard Dunlap sat before 22 children Tuesday at Sonshine Christian Academy, reinforcing the Pre-K students’ mastery of the alphabet by using the alliterative character names from a storybook.

Dunlap, the superintendent of the Upper Darby School District, spent about 20 minutes reading “Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten” to an attentive group quick to respond to his follow-up questions. The event, organized by Pre-K For PA, was designed to publicize the benefits of high-quality, early childhood education programs and to push for improved access to them.

Patrice Scanlon, principal of the Upper Darby Kindergarten Center, said kindergarten students who previously attended an early childhood program are noticeably better prepared. She noted that the Sonshine students recognized letters, took turns responding, had a sense of rhyme and were capable of focusing on a story.

“We have kids who come in and they don’t know their colors,” Scanlon said. “It sounds like little things, but instead of jumping into the curriculum, we’re teaching skills they should already come with.”

High-quality, early childhood education programs go a long way toward closing the achievement gap among elementary school students, Dunlap said. The goal, he said, is to have all students on grade level in both reading and math by third grade.

“That’s where you see all the avenues and doors open up — when they learn to read,” Dunlap said.

Upper Darby does not have the space or funding necessary to run its own early childhood education program, Dunlap said, forcing it to rely on community agencies like Sonshine to provide services. Yet, access for students across Delaware County is limited.

More than 70 percent of Delco children ages 3 and 4 do not have access to high-quality, Pre-K programs. About half of that group lives in families earning below 300 percent of the poverty line — the requirement for students to be eligible for the publicly-funded Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts program.

“We have such limited programs available to families in need,” Pre-K for PA Field Director Anne Gemmell said. “We can do this. It’s just about the political will.”

Pre-K for PA is an advocacy group pushing for greater financial investment in early childhood education programs. However, it does not endorse or oppose political candidates.

Sonshine is one of 30 Delco agencies qualifying as a Star 4 Pre-K program, the highest ranking given by the state’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning. The faith-based academy is licensed to enroll as many as 129 children but typically only takes 110-115 to avoid warehousing them, Executive Director Margie Sebastiani said. It often has a waiting list of 25 children.

Each of the academy’s teachers hold collegiate degrees, Sebastiani said, but with limited funding it is difficult to maintain the best talent. She said the academy ­— which will turn 15 in January — typically loses at least one teacher to another job each year.

Yet, Sebastiani heralded the lessons the children receive at the academy, noting their schedule is packed from their 7 a.m. arrival until their 6 p.m. departure.

“Early learning programs are not day cares,” Sebastiani said. “I literally abhor that word. … That is not what early education is about anymore.”

Delaware County Daily Times – August 19, 2014 – Read article online