Pre-K in Pittsburgh: A Call for Action

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ContentsIntroduction 4

The Cost of Pre-K 5

The Current State of Play: A Look at Existing State and Local Programs, Providers and Funding Streams 6 Table 1. Poverty Level by Neighborhood 6Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works Subsidized Child Care Program (CCIS) 7Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Program 8Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP) 8Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood Education 8

Focusing on Quality 10

The Solution and Recommendations 15 Table 2. Cost Estimates for Pre-K Expansion 15

Conclusion 17

Parent and Provider Testimony Dhana K., Pittsburgh Public Schools Kindergarten teacher 4Valerie A., parent, Troy Hill 5Ida W., great-grandparent, Lemington 7Marquia W., parent, Lincoln 8Javanna G., parent, Highland Park 8Kimberly S., Pittsburgh Police Officer 9Shellie T., Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood Educator 10Amira M., parent, Allentown 11Donna D., Manager of Corporate and Special Projects for UPMC 13Dayna J., Early Childhood Professional, student 14

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IntroductionA child’s brain undergoes a rapid period of growth and development during their first five years of life1. In these early years, a child’s genetics and personal experiences will come together to either support or hinder their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. An expanding body of research demonstrates the myriad benefits that children with access to high-quality, inclusive programming stand to gain: children who attended Pre-K programs do better in school and are less likely to require special education services or to have to repeat a grade; they have lower rates of chronic health conditions later in life2; they are less likely to become parents as teenagers; and they are more likely to graduate from college and maintain stable jobs and families3. Although the benefits of early learning are well documented in scientific research, a child’s ability to benefit from the system continues to be the exception rather than the norm because of lack of access to inclusive, high-quality Pre-K.

At the local level, there are an estimated 1,500 children in Pittsburgh without access to full day, high-quality, inclusive Pre-K programming.4 The need for solutions that grant all of our children an equal opportunity to succeed are pressing. Over one-third of Pittsburgh’s children are living below the federal poverty line5—a significant statistic given the well-documented impacts of poverty on early childhood development. Children growing up in poverty often suffer from “toxic stress,” which we know alters the architecture of their young brains and permanently impacts future development6. Socioeconomic status is also a factor in determining cognitive and verbal ability for children entering kindergarten7. Our window to impact development is critical, as it is in a child’s earliest years that the roots of lasting inequality lie. To wit, research shows that 60-70% of the achievement gap between our nation’s poorest and richest children is already evident by kindergarten8.

Dhana K., Pittsburgh Public Schools Kindergarten teacher

As we know all too well, kindergarten has become much more rigorous than it used to be. Children are expected to learn classroom routines, get along with their peers, and achieve very specific benchmarks in a short amount of time.

As a kindergarten teacher, Dhana says “I can usually tell which children have had experience in an early childhood setting. They have stronger social and emotional skills, and have learned to adapt to the daily transitions. They are better prepared to be separated from their families. They start the year with fewer meltdowns and they know how to forge relationships with their peers.”

Dhana values the work that is done in early childhood, as she knows that it provides a stable base for learning as the child goes all the way through their academic career.

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The Cost of ChildcareTo level the playing field for all of our children, we must look at the barriers to access in order to understand why only about half of the roughly 8.1 million 3- and 4-year-olds in the United States are currently enrolled in high-quality Pre-K. For many families, the cost of high-quality Pre-K is simply unaffordable. As it currently stands, childcare costs more than rent in all fifty states, and more than college in a majority of states9. In 2014, the statewide average cost of childcare for a 4-year-old topped out at $8,72710. This average cost amounts to nearly 10% of the median income in the city of Pittsburgh, and nearly half of a minimum wage earner’s yearly pay.

The private market has long failed working families looking for childcare assistance, and our public programs are not adequately filling the gaps. Pennsylvania’s publicly funded childcare assistance program for low-income families is not sufficiently funded to meet the needs of qualifying families—despite strict income thresholds and other program qualifications. In 2014, a family of three in Pennsylvania could theoretically qualify for state childcare assistance with an income of $39,060. This annual family income—approximately 197% of the federal poverty line—would still come with the price tag of $134 per month for the family’s projected copayment11. Add to that burden the problem of access: in 2013, the waiting list for Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works Subsidized Child Care Program (CCIS) topped out at 6,183 children12.

We know that high-quality Pre-K works. The research is clear: inclusive, high-quality programs for all young children reap dividends as child development translates into economic gains for everyone later in life. Each year that we fail to invest in our earliest learners, we create a future that holds more kids with failing grades, more high school drop-outs, more children who end up in jail, less productive members of the workforce and increased healthcare costs13. Creating universal Pre-K for every child is not only an aspirational goal—it is critical for the success of our country’s future. We have a moral and collective imperative to fund Pre-K now.

Valerie A., parent, Troy Hill

Valerie’s family is just one of thousands of Pennsylvania families who cannot afford to send their children to Pre-K. Valerie’s husband is a city of Pittsburgh firefighter and EMS fire instructor, and she works multiple part time jobs. The city of Pittsburgh has been reliant upon firefighters working overtime in order to safely staff their firehouses for years. Valerie explains that, “my husband loves his job and is happy to work, but this makes us earn too much to qualify for preschool scholarship programs. Unfortunately, we cannot make enough to afford the $650/month cost of public preschool either. And overtime pay is too unreliable for us to really be able to count it in our budget.”Valerie and her husband have a son with special needs, and they assist a disabled parent that cuts into their expendable income.

VaIerie says she is “limited in finding full-time employment because reliable childcare is also unaffordable. On average, that would cost us $1300/month. I never imagined that my husband and I would not be able to afford public education. We are both hardworking, tax-paying veterans who cannot help our daughter access school. Something needs to change because no child should be robbed of his or her right to an education.”

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The Current State of Play: A Look at Existing State and Local Programs, Providers and Funding Streams

The accessibility of Pre-K in several of Pittsburgh’s low- and moderate-income communities are cause for concern. A recent report released by The Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) examined the impact of neighborhood-level factors that impact early childhood development by utilizing The Child Raising Vulnerability Index. The indicators studied are representative of four categories that are tied to the impact of neighborhoods on childhood outcomes: social indicators, education indicators, economic indicators and wealth indicators. When census tracts were more than one standard deviation from the mean in the negative direction, they were designated as “vulnerable” for particular indicators. In Pittsburgh, the Homewood, Hill District, and North Side areas of the city produced four or more risk factors14, meaning their levels of child-raising vulnerability were the highest when compared to other areas of the city. The concern, however, doesn’t stop there: risk levels within the city limits of Pittsburgh were also found to be relatively higher than the surrounding areas of Allegheny County15.

0-19%20-39%40-59%60-100%

Fig 1. Poverty Level by Neighborhood16

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Moreover, even when families can afford Pre-K, the number of available slots for children often falls short of the need. When race is factored into the availability and accessibility of Pre-K in Pittsburgh, the disparities become even more alarming. According to a report by the Center on Race and Social Problems at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work, even as Pittsburgh’s overall levels of Pre-K enrollment surpass national averages, the proportion of African-American children enrolled in Pre-K falls below it17.

Despite the racial and socioeconomic disparities that impact Pre-K affordability and accessibility in the city of Pittsburgh, the complicated delivery systems that families with young children must navigate in order to receive care are also problematic. Pennsylvania has several Pre-K programs with various eligibility requirements, income thresholds, and levels of state and federal funding. The following sections describe early childhood programs currently in operation in the City and state and federal funding that may fund high quality Pre-K:

Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works Subsidized Child Care Funding Mechanism (CCIS)Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works provides financial assistance for childcare so low-income parents can continue working and pursuing educational opportunities. Funded through the federal Child Development Block Grant, this mechanism funds childcare and after-school care for children from infancy through age 13, and as such may provide funding for Pre-K for 3 and 4 year old children if they are enrolled in a high-quality center. To be eligible for Child Care Works, families must earn 200% of the federal poverty level or less, and must meet a number of work-related requirements.

State Funding Programs:

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts ProgramPennsylvania Pre-K Counts provides high-quality Pre-K to 594 at-risk preschool children in the school, Head Start, childcare and nursey school settings. All of the Pre-K Counts childcare provider sites are either enrolled in the Keystone STARS program or are licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Similar to the Education Accountability Block Grant, children are eligible for Pre-K Counts two years before their locally-determined kindergarten eligibility age, though programs may set additional criteria based on need. Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts serves children who are living in families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level, in addition to children that may be impacted by other risk factors such as disabilities, developmental delays, or English language learning. Despite limited space and rapidly-filling classrooms, Pre-K Counts is free for Pennsylvania families.

Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP)The Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program provides state funds to supplement federal allocations to expand high-quality Pre-K Head Start services

Ida W., great-grand-parent, Lemington

Ida is the primary caregiver of her great-granddaughter while her daughter and granddaughter work second shifts. Ida explains that “it’s particularly difficult to find high-quality childcare during that time of day, since it isn’t during traditional childcare center hours. I’m not sure what my granddaughter would do to cover care if I weren’t available.” Ida works third shift, so it’s challenging to spend a full day watching her great-granddaughter and then working full-time in the evenings.

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for eligible children throughout Pennsylvania. Head Start Programs may enroll additional three or four year old children and/or expand full day and full year service opportunities for children and families.19 The program provides services to 300 children between the ages of 3 and 5. Access to this state-funded program is limited to federal Head Start grantees in addition to their childcare partners who have received a minimum STAR 3 level in the Keystone STARS quality initiative program.

Providers:

Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood EducationThe Pittsburgh Public Schools District provides free, full day Pre-K to students ages 3-5 in a number of classrooms and childcare agencies located throughout the city. The program is funded through local, state and federal funds including Head Start and Pre-K Counts, and is free for families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level. However, demand for the program exceeds current capacity. The waiting list for children in the 2015-16 academic year was roughly 340 students, and in prior years, the waiting list has approached 500.20

Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center (COTRAIC)The Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center (COTRAIC) also provides Head Start services and free Pre-K education to income-eligible students in the Knoxville, Overbrook, Hazelwood and Brookline neighborhoods.

Marquia W., parent, Lincoln

Marquia has three children, one of whom attends a high-quality child care center in Oakland. Her children have received high-quality early education, so she understands the benefits. Marquia received a subsidy from CCIS, which is helpful, since she couldn’t afford child care without it. Unfortunately, as a single parent with only one income, the copays are still a burden and take up a significant portion of Marquia’s income.

Javanna G., parent, Highland ParkJavanna is a bus driver and a single mom of a two-year-old girl. Even with a CCIS subsidy, the out-of-pocket cost of care is an enormous strain on Javanna’s budget. Currently, Javanna’s daughter is enrolled at a private corporate childcare center, but she’s working to get her into a Head Start program within Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Early Education Program. Javanna explains, “my concern is that there’s no way to transport her from the private center, which I would still use for before and after care, to the public school where she would receive a high-quality early education that can prepare her for kindergarten and beyond. There’s no bus offered that can take her. Why can’t preschool work the same way that a K-12 education does?”

For a working mom, the combination of limited options, expense, and unworkable transportation is a nearly insurmountable challenge.

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Kimberly S., Pittsburgh Police Officer

As a member of the community response team, City of Pittsburgh Police Officer Kim-berly is no stranger to local processes and procedures. And as a single mother of three, she’s also no stranger to the challenges faced by most of today’s families, with one particularly unique twist: “All three of my children were adopted internationally.” Despite her busy schedule, Kim still makes time to give back to the community – volunteering as a guest storyteller for the Raising Readers program hosted by the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) at Willie T’s Barber Shop in Homewood.

One of Kim’s daughters, five-year-old Kaitlin—affectionately dubbed “Katie” by her family—faces a set of unique challenges. A burn survivor, Katie survived a series of surgeries to improve her quality of life, a process that takes its toll in other areas of her development. “Her medical trauma is ongoing,” says Kim. “She has a lot of delays because of her medical issues.”

When it came time for Kaitlin to enter Pre-K, Kim made an informed decision based upon convenient access to the necessary supports her daughter requires in addition to curriculum. “My older girls went to a private preschool…yet my original intent was to put her in Pittsburgh Public, which has physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech support services.”

Imagine her surprise, when Kim—mother, city employee, and community volunteer—discovered that Pittsburgh Public Schools agreed to accept Kaitlin into the district’s early learning program, but for a fee of $6,500.00.

One might assume that Pittsburgh Public Schools’ decision to charge Katie for access to the Early Childhood Program stems from an inability to support her health needs or the level of one-on-one interaction that she may require to “catch up” to her peers. But actually, the cost of matriculation resulted because of Kim’s salary. Kim explained, “they told me that my income was too high to be eligible, and since preschool is not a requirement, it was either pay the $6,500.00 or she couldn’t attend. I’m a single mother on a city officer salary.”

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police recruitment website lists the first-year salary of a Pittsburgh police officer as $42,528/year. Unable to afford the fee and unsettled by the prospect of trying “that’s an insane amount of money,” Kim said—she needed to develop a “plan B.”

With the help of her medical insurance carrier, Kim identified a preschool program outside of the city to provide cur-riculum and services designed to support Kaitlin effectively. Poignantly named “Hope,” the program helps to prepare her for her next big transition. “She’s really making good progress,” says Kim. “The rapid acceleration is impressive. I’m hoping she’ll be ready for mainstream Kindergarten next year.”

Despite the positive outcome for Kaitlin, Kim can’t help but worry about other families in the community who may face the same financial challenges. “For anyone else who may not have insurance or be able to use it, where would they be?” asked Kim.

TESTIMONIAL

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Focusing on QualityA child’s readiness for kindergarten is impacted by how comprehensive needs are met and addressed. High-quality early learning programs include physical and motor development, language and literacy, social and emotional development, and cognitive development. Unfortunately, for many children whose needs aren’t being met through lower-quality programming, starting behind often means staying behind. Research has demonstrated that differences in development start early. By age two, low-income children are already six months behind their higher-income peers in language development. By age five, they are nearly two years behind21.

Too many low- and moderate-income families have no choice but to attend Pre-K programs that do not adequately meet the needs of children in our region. In an effort to help families identify high-quality childhood providers and incentivize high-quality early learning, Pennsylvania created Keystone STARS, a quality rating and improvement system that ranks childcare providers based on levels of quality. Although participation is voluntary, providers that participate can receive higher childcare subsidy payments than they previously would have from qualifying low-income families. Yet, even at the highest reimbursement rates available, the childcare subsidy does not cover the cost of providing high-quality childcare and Pre-K. According to Pennsylvania’s own estimates, the subsidy rates would only allow families receiving childcare subsidies to qualify for 21% of care centers for preschoolers22. Despite efforts to increase quality and accessibility, too many programs are still out of reach for many working families in our region.

Shellie T., Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood Educator

Shellie’s experience with early childhood spans all ages from 0-5. She has seen firsthand the benefits of children being in high-quality programs. Shellie notes that “when children are in high- quality programs, their development is encouraged and tracked. If a child displays any delays or problems, they can be addressed immediately and often times the child’s development in on track by the time they enter kindergarten.”

Quality early childhood programs address not only the developmental needs of children, but the social and emotional needs as well. Children are natural learners and when provided with an engaging and stimulating setting they grow by leaps and bounds. Shellie believes that “it is important that we provide all children with the opportunity to strive and become efficient learners in this fast-paced world we live in.”

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Pittsburgh’s highest quality early childhood programs spend well over $8,000 per child. For 3- and 4-year-olds, the publicly funded programs meeting the most National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) quality benchmarks typically fund programming close to their city or state’s K-12 per-pupil funding averages. In 2013, Pennsylvania’s K-12 per-pupil funding average was $13,86423. The American Institutes for Research found that Boston, the District of Columbia, New York City, San Antonio, and Seattle fund their Pre-K programs at per-pupil levels ranging from $10,000 to $15,372 per year24. It is important to note that these programs each offer at least six hours of classroom instruction per day and meet high-quality standards.

0 20 40 60 80 100

% of 3 and 4-year-olds enrolled in state Pre-Kindergarten

National Enrollment Rate

WyomingUtah

South DakotaNorth Dakota

New HampshireMontana

IndianaIdaho

MinnesotaHawaii

Rhode IslandNevadaAlaska

MissouriMississippi

OhioArizona

MassachusettsDelaware

WashingtonOregon

PennsylvaniaAlabama

CaliforniaVirginia

TennesseeKansas

North CarolinaConnecticut

ColoradoKentucky

IllinoisNew Jersey

New MexicoNebraskaLouisianaMichiganMaryland

MaineArkansas

South CarolinaTexas

New YorkGeorgia

IowaWisconsin

West VirginiaOklahoma

FloridaVermont

District of Columbia

No S

tate

Pro

gram

Amira M., parent, Allentown:

Amira has three children who attend a high-quality childcare center, a five-year-old and twin one-year-olds. Amira believes that “my oldest child has gotten a high-quality early education at the center. The curriculum does so much to develop cognitive and social skills and prepare kids like mine to excel in kindergarten.”

Unfortunately, when Amira’s twins were old enough to enter a center, they were placed on a waiting list for the center where her oldest attended. As a result, Amira sought out other centers for them, but found that high-quality centers were severely lacking in her neighborhood. Amira’s twins ended up at a different center without an appropriate curriculum, where the twins aren’t being offered the same learning experience that her eldest child received. When a spot finally opens up, Amira will move the twins into the same high-quality center that her eldest was in. In the meantime, all she can do is hope that it won’t be too little, too late.

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Pennsylvania’s current levels of Pre-K funding and investment cannot be managed better or stretched farther to provide higher-quality early learning to our children. It is just not possible. According to the most recent NIEER survey, compared to the rest of the country, Pennsylvania performs poorly in state funding and investment. During the 2014-15 year, only 5.8% of 3-year-olds and 12% of 4-year-olds were enrolled in Pennsylvania’s Pre-K programming25. Pennsylvania ranks 30th out of the 42 states providing publicly-funded Pre-K programming for 4-year-olds, and 15th for 3-year-olds. Simply put, our state is not investing heavily enough in our Pre-K programs as currently structured in order to provide the per-pupil investment that our children need to grow and thrive.

Although state funding and investment is a critical piece of improving the landscape of early childhood education and care, it’s important to remember another essential component of quality: the recruitment and retention of a highly skilled workforce. Nationally, childcare workers are among our country’s lowest-paid employees with a median hourly wage of $10.31—a wage 39% lower than the $17.00 median hourly wage in other occupations26. In Pennsylvania, the median wage for childcare workers is well below the national average at $9.42. These abysmal wages cost our state $48.3 million annually, as 43% of childcare worker families’ participate in one or more public income support programs27. In addition to earning near-poverty wages, most early childhood educators often do not receive benefits for health insurance or retirement—two critical components of workforce recruitment and retention. Nationally, only 15% of employees in the early childhood workforce have employer-sponsored health insurance, compared to approximately 50% of employees in other occupations. Similarly, only 9.6% of the early education workforce has pension coverage compared with approximately 39% of employees in other occupations28.

Currently, the cost of center-based infant care in Pennsylvania is 54% of a childcare worker’s annual wage and nearly 45% of a preschool teacher’s annual wage29. It is unacceptable that the educators of our state’s earliest learners do not earn enough to afford high-quality care for their own children. The poor compensation of early childcare workers fuels high turnover, undermines the quality of early childhood education, and perpetuates the cycle of poverty. Without a concerted effort to improve early learning workforce conditions, we are doing our children and our future generations a great disservice.

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Donna D., Manager of Corporate and Special Projects for UPMC

Donna devotes hours to conducting community health needs assessments for UPMC’s thirteen hospitals. As an Adjunct Assistant Professor for the University of Pittsburgh, she devotes yet more time to sharing her knowledge of epidemiology with graduate students. But outside of the lab, Donna devotes herself to yet another critical position – raising three young daughters. As a successful Ph.D. and mom to seven-year-old Lucy and five-year-old twins Camilla and Juliette, Donna also depends on quality early childhood programming to support her family.

“In 2005 I decided to go to grad school to earn my Ph.D. in Public Health,” Donna explains. While preparing to complete her degree, Donna was also preparing for yet another major step: giving birth to her first child. That’s when

she found Carriage House Children’s Center in Squirrel Hill – a program that Donna credits as a critical component of her success. According Donna, “Carriage House has been very supportive of someone like me, in the throes of a career. And it has been essential in allowing the girls to get what they need to succeed in school.”

Carriage House Children’s Center, founded in 1974 by celebrated early childhood champion Natalie Kaplan, earned a reputation in Pittsburgh as a model developmental program for children ages six weeks to six years. A non-profit, full-time child care center, the school also offers a responsive early learning curriculum and a licensed preschool program. The center gave Donna’s daughter Lucy a strong foundation for managing and achieving in elementary school.

“In kindergarten,” says Donna, “Lucy was open to different kinds of experiences. The play-based curriculum gave her opportunities to read more, identify letters more…to do special projects on her own – and to excel at them.”

And, the benefits of Lucy’s Carriage House experience extend beyond the academic. “Overall, the supportive experience [at Carriage House] allowed her to grow special friendships,” Donna explains.

In May of 2016, Donna prepared for yet another major step: watching her twin girls graduate from the Carriage House Kindergarten program, and getting them ready to follow in their sister’s footsteps to “big school.”

As the children stepped down from the graduation stage, faces full of smiles, Donna stopped to thank one person in particular: Natalie Kaplan. “Because of you”, Donna gushed appreciatively, “I can actually go to work because I trust this program.” Turning to face families and guests, unable to contain her clear admiration, she went on: “Do you know how many generations Natalie has impacted? How many women are stronger because of her?”

Because of Carriage House’s quality early education program and its founder’s commitment to Pre-K, Donna’s children have developed stronger connections, stronger support, and stronger success.

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Dayna J., Early Childhood Professional, student

Dayna has worked in childcare for the past 16 years. Dayna wears many hats: Director / Administrator, Accountant, Teacher, Counselor and Family Engagement Specialist. She is currently finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Point Park University and plans on continuing on to get a Master’s Degree in Education.

According to Dayna, “I participate in the Keystone Stars Program, but opt to remain at a Star 1 Level. I have achieved a Star 3 level in the past, but do not have the staff necessary to keep up with the paperwork. I only employ one other full time employee besides myself--everyone else is part time because the subsidies do not come near the cost of operating the center.”

Dayna chooses to stay in the field because she is dedicated to the care and education of young children and knows that what she does is extremely important to the families she serves. Dayna says, “the children leave with a strong foundation for learning and the families are able to be self-sufficient because of what I do.”

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The Solution and RecommendationsWe cannot afford to postpone prioritizing the education of our youngest learners. It is time to make high-quality, inclusive Pre-K a reality for every 3- and 4-year-old in the city of Pittsburgh. While the exact number of children in Pittsburgh without access to full-day Pre-K is difficult to assess, U.S. Census data shows that number is somewhere between 1,130 and 1,530 children30. According to current research, high-performing publicly-funded full day programs typically spend between $10,000-$15,372 per child. The current per-child spending rate by Pittsburgh Public Schools for early childhood education is $9,220.

Although there is much work to be done to serve every child without access to publicly-funded, high-quality Pre-K programming in Pittsburgh, we can begin making a dent in the number of children who go without care. With an investment of $5 million dollars, Pittsburgh could serve 500 children with a high-quality reimbursement rate of $10,000. With $10 million dollars, we could expand service to 1,000 children, and with $15 million we could expand to 1,500 children.

Policy Outcome Children Impacted

Annual Cost (based on $10,000 per Pre-K pupil spending

rate*)

Eliminate PPS Pre-K waitlist30 400 $4 million

Enroll all 3- and 4-year-olds not currently attend-ing Pre-K30

1,500 (estimated)

$15 million

Fully fund Pre-K for all chil-dren either not in publicly-funded Pre-K or currently attending private Pre-K30

3,273-4,331 $32.7-$43.3 million

* Figure represents 180 days of 6.5 hours of Pre-K per year

Source: U.S. Census,Pittsburgh Public Schools, New America Foundation31

A combination of local and state revenue sources will be needed to ensure that every child without access to Pre-K becomes enrolled. During his first two years in office, Governor Wolf secured historic increases for education funding in the state of Pennsylvania, restoring the devastating funding cuts made by the previous administration. Under Governor Wolf’s leadership, basic education funding has seen a $415 million increase, and early childhood education funding has secured

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a historic investment of $60 million. In his budget proposal for fiscal budget 2017-18, Governor Wolf has proposed additional investments of $100 million in basic education funding, $25 million for special education funding, and $75 million for high-quality early childhood education31. Despite Governor Wolf’s leadership to reinvest in our state’s public education system, investments in high-quality Pre-K must grow at a much stronger pace if we hope to reach the 120,000 at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds who miss out on Pre-K opportunities in Pennsylvania each year.

Although we must secure greater, long-term investments in early education at the state-level, we must also explore various revenue streams locally to secure additional funding if we are going to provide expanded Pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds in the city of Pittsburgh. As a home-rule, second-class city, Pittsburgh is able to set higher rates than the limits provided in state law for property taxes and personal taxes levied on residents, but cannot create new subjects for taxation. Despite some of the restrictions enacted, city leaders should still boldly pursue unique and innovative funding streams, and if necessary, work with the state in designing a sustainable and long-term funding strategy for Pre-K expansion.

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Conclusion All of our children deserve an equal opportunity to succeed, and the investment that helps our children get on equal footing begins at birth. Investing in high-quality, inclusive Pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old in the city of Pittsburgh is the right moral and financial course of action for our city. There is no better investment than our children, and it is our responsibility to ensure that each child gets the strong and healthy start they need and deserve. Too often children miss out on high-quality Pre-K opportunities because of their zip code, the neighborhood they live in, or the income level of their families. In order to truly expand Pre-K opportunities for every child, we must recognize the interconnectedness of many of our city’s most pressing needs, namely: affordable housing, an adequate public transportation system and good jobs.

With a focus on quality and an eye towards addressing the pressing recruitment and retention needs of high-caliber early educators that our children need to succeed, we can change the course of history for the estimated 1,500 3- and 4-year-old children who lack access to full-day Pre-K in the city of Pittsburgh.

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The Lifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress. PEDIATRICS.

2. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Christina Weiland et al. (2013). Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education. See also: Robert Pianta (2009). The Effects of Preschool Education: What we know, how public policy is or is not aligned with the evidence base, and what we need to know. Association for Psychological Science 10 (2).

3. Arthur Reynolds (2001). Long-term Effects of an Early Childhood Intervention on Educational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest: A 15 Year Follow-up of Low Income Children in Public Schools. The Journal of the American Medical Association 285 (18).

4. Pre-K and Child Care in Pittsburgh: The Reality, the Opportunities and the Challenge. (2016). Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. This report puts the number of 3 & 4 year olds not currently enrolled in Pre-K as between 1,130 and 1,530. For the purposes of this report we are using an estimate of 1,500 children.

5. United States Census Bureau; American FactFinder. (2009-2014). Children Characteristics: Pittsburgh, PA. See also: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. (2012). U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey Office.

6. Shonkoff, J.P., Garner, A.S., Siegel, B.S., Dobbins, M.I., Earls, M.F., McGuinn, L.,… Wood, D.L. (2012). The Lifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress. PEDIATRICS.

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9. Gould, E. & Cooke, T. (2015). High Quality Childcare is Out of Reach for Working Families. Economic Policy Institute.

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11. National Women’s Law Center (2015). Building Blocks: State Child Care Assistance Policies, 2015.

12. National Women’s Law Center. (2013). State Child Care Assistance Policies: Pennsylvania.

13. Skarda, E. (2014). Ask the Experts: How Can We Fix Early Childhood Education? Nationswell.

14. Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children. (2016). Pittsburgh City Council Child Care Needs Assessment: Engaging Child Care Professionals About Their Needs.

15. Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children. (2016). Pittsburgh City Council Child Care Needs Assessment: Engaging Child Care Professionals About Their Needs.

16. PghSNAP (2016). PghSNAP Raw Data and Download Center: Data by Neighborhood.

17. The Center on Race and Social Problems—The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work. (2015). Pittsburgh’s Racial Demographics 2015: Differences and Disparities.

18. Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children. (2016). Pittsburgh City Council Child Care Needs Assessment: Engaging Child Care Professionals About Their Needs.

19. Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program. (2009). PA Keys. Accessed at: http://www.pakeys.org/pages/get.aspx?page=home

20. Pre-K and Child Care in Pittsburgh: The Reality, the Opportunities and the Challenge. (2016). Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.

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21. Early Edge California. (2016). The Benefits of High-Quality Early Learning.

22. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. Child Care and Development Fund Plan for Pennsylvania FY 2014-15.

23. United States Census Bureau, Educational Finance Branch. (2013). Public Education Finances.

24. Muenchow, S. & Weinburg, E. (2016). Education Policy Center at American Institutes for Research. Ten Questions Local Policymakers Should Ask About Expanding Access to Preschool.

25. Barnett, W., Carolan, M., Squires, J., & Clarke Brown, K. (2015). The State of Preschool 2015: State Preschool Yearbook. National Institute for Early Education Research.

26. Gould, E. (2015). Child Care Workers Aren’t Paid Enough to Make Ends Meet. Economic Policy Institute.

27. Early Childhood Workforce Index: Pennsylvania. (2016). Center for the Study of Child Care Employment: University of California, Berkeley.

28. Gould, E. (2015). Child Care Workers Aren’t Paid Enough to Make Ends Meet. Economic Policy Institute.

29. The cost of child care in Pennsylvania. Economic Policy Institute: Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org/child-care-costs-in-the-united-states/#/PA.

Toohey, G. (2016, June 18). “Study: Preschool teachers make near-poverty wages in Pa.” Philadelphia Inquirer.

30. Pre-K and Child Care in Pittsburgh: The Reality, the Opportunities and the Challenge. (2016). Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.

31. This range is derived by subtracting the New America Foundation’s estimate of school-district funded Pre-K students (2,422) and the school district’s reported Pre-K enrollment of 1,364 from the U.S. Census total number of preschool age children in the locality (5,695).

New America Foundation. (2013). New School District-Level Pre-K Data Reflect Drop in State Spending.

32. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 2017-2018 Governor’s Executive Budget-in-Brief. (2017) Accessed at: https://www.governor.pa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017-18-budget-in-

brief.pdf

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