HARRISBURG – Gov. Edward G. Rendell said more than 11,000 3- and 4-year olds will benefit from new, quality pre-kindergarten programs with the state’s $75 million investment in Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, a program designed to help children who are in the greatest need of academic support.
In Clearfield County, the Children’s Aid Society was awarded a grant.
“My education strategy has been to target resources to programs that have been proven to increase student achievement, and early childhood education is a crucial part of that strategy,” Rendell said of the money that will help some 150 entitites. “Providing children with a solid educational foundation in their earliest years will help them reach their full potential in high school, college and beyond.
“Thousands of Pennsylvania preschoolers who might face the risk of failing in school now will be able to get a solid start and a better chance to succeed,” the governor said.
Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts enables school districts, Head Start providers, child care centers and nursery schools to deliver high-quality pre-kindergarten to more children, with an emphasis on those who are at the greatest risk of future academic failure. Any public or private school meeting the state’s standards for educational quality was eligible to apply for funding.
Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts requires grantees to provide a qualified teacher and teacher’s aide, small class sizes, a curriculum that is aligned with the Pennsylvania Early Learning standards, regular assessment of the children’s progress and reporting of the program’s performance. These quality expectations will ensure that the children will have a high quality early learning experience.
“Our mission is to provide Pennsylvania’s children with an education that prepares them for life,” Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak said. “Making investments in early childhood education is one of the wisest and most rewarding ways we can accomplish this goal.”
Children age 3 until they enter kindergarten are eligible to apply. Priority enrollment will be targeted to children who may have economic, language, cultural or other disadvantages that put them at a higher risk of failing in school. In addition, children living in families earning less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level (such as a family of four earning $61,950 a year) would be considered at-risk for this program.
“For our at-risk children, in particular, the early years provide a crucial window of opportunity that can determine their progress and achievement throughout their lives,” Zahorchak said. “If we can take full advantage of these earliest years of intellectual and social development, we can reap the greatest rewards for each child and for society as a whole.”
Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts is among several innovative educational initiatives funded in the 2007-08 budget recently signed into law by Rendell. Other programs include “Science: It’s Elementary,” which brings science to life in the classroom, the “Project 720” high school reform initiative, and “Classrooms for the Future,” which provides professional development for educators and puts laptop computers and other high-tech tools in Pennsylvania’s high school classrooms.