|
Early Education
James R. Weaver
Vice President, Pennsylvania State Education Association
Back to Report Home
On behalf of PSEA's 163,000 members I am pleased to lend our Association's
support to PPC's "Every Child, Every School" campaign.
- As the state's largest teacher and school employee union,
PSEA and its members know from experience that academic success
doesn't start at age 5 because learning doesn't begin at age
5 and end at 18. Learning is a state of being from birth throughout
life.
- We are especially committed to helping the kids most in need
succeed in school. Too many children start life at a disadvantage.
In early childhood, particularly grades K through 3, if children
come to the classroom unprepared or learn, that hobbles them
from the start. The one break they're supposed to get, the thing
that helps them break out of poverty and away from life's challenges,
is a good public education. While teachers try to find innovative
ways to enhance the classroom experience, we're also joining
the call for an early childhood education plan that introduces
at-risk children to high-quality learning experiences.
- The three policies in Every Child, Every School - pre-kindergarten,
full-day kindergarten, and small class sizes in the early grades
- help students start off on the right foot. They offer children
a cushion of support, carrying them from the preschool years
through those first, critical years in school. These are research-based
policies, tested and proven.
- These policies help schools and teachers by leveling the playing
field. Kids enter school today and go through their first years
of schooling with widely divergent skill levels. For instance,
as this report notes, low-income children come to kindergarten
with half the vocabulary words of their higher-income peers.
When teachers have to sort kids by skill level, when they have
to divide their time between the kids who know their letters
and those who can hardly tell their colors, then all the kids
suffer because they're getting a smaller piece of the teacher's
time.
- Finally, teachers continue to wrestle with the question of
parental involvement. It's still a challenge to engage parents
in their children's education. We do what we can, and we continue
to hone our engagement policies in the school and the classroom,
but there's a wonderful thing about early childhood education:
The earlier parents become involved, the likelier they are to
stay involved. They have a better understanding of what their
children need and really see results, so they're encouraged
to stay involved. But even beyond that, they feel comfortable
within the school community. They know how to communicate with
teachers and school administrators, sharing ideas and concerns,
contributing their time and talents in the classroom - not just
taking instructions from us but also acting as real partners
in education.
- I want to conclude my remarks by calling on Governor Rendell
and state lawmakers to renew their efforts to develop a state
budget that meets the needs of children attending public schools.
The current budget proposal under consideration in the Senate
will do nothing to improve educational opportunities for students
in poor school districts. In fact, the current budget proposal
causes even greater inequities across the state. It actually
makes matters worse for students in the districts identified
as needing improvement under Act 16 of 2000, by eliminating
funds to help them improve. It provides no help to districts
for overcoming the effects of inflation and the new unfunded
mandates of federal legislation. And it makes no positive improvements
in class size, full-day kindergarten or early childhood education.
- We call on the Governor and legislative leaders to come together
in a bipartisan spirit to craft a budget that will invest in
the education of our youngest citizens.
This Page Last Modified
August 11, 2003
|
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
116 Pine Street, Suite 430
Harrisburg, PA 17101
717-236-5680 / 800-257-2030
Fax: 717-236-7745
Contact PPC/Questions
|
|
