PPC's Toolkit
Pennsylvania Prekindergarten Initiative
Sample letter to the editor
Tips:
- Keep to no more than 250 words
- Sign your name and hometown
- Stay positive and solution-focused
- Localize with examples of community programs that would benefit
from pre-K
- When possible, open by referring to a recent article and transition
to the key messages about prekindergarten investments. (For
example: "I'm pleased to see that the La Brea School Board is
working to raise students' test scores, but there's another,
critical initiative our community could adopt if state help
were available: prekindergarten.")
Dear Editor:
Pennsylvania is one of nine states that doesn't fund prekindergarten
- hard to believe when we know so much about helping young children
learn. When children enter school and aren't ready to learn, our
kindergarten and first-grade teachers have to help them catch
up, and that strains our schools.
Children from quality prekindergarten do better in school. They
get better grades and test scores, need less need special education,
are less likely to be held back a grade, and are more likely to
graduate from high school.
Many parents have few alternatives to choose from, so expanding
parent options helps more children get quality prekindergarten.
Even non-working parents enroll their children in prekindergarten,
appreciating the educational and social benefits for their young
children. But again, the question centers on the menu of options
available to families. Just like any good program that helps children
learn and build their potential, quality counts in prekindergarten,
and parents need more choices to select programs that fit their
families' needs.
Pennsylvania could make a start, though a small one, with the proposed Education Accountability Block Grant, which would let school districts invest new funds in a range of education enhancements, including early childhood education. The governor and legislators agreed to put the block grant in the 2004-05 budget. Our community would benefit. I support early childhood education investments and hope that Senator (name) and Representative (name) will actively support it, too.
Sincerely,
Back to Toolkit
This Page Last Modified
January 16, 2004
|
