Legislators - Support Pennsylvania's Promise for Children

Quality early learning opportunities for the young children in your district can improve the quality of life for all of your constituents. Your support can bring quality early learning to more children, preparing them for success in school and life.

Here are some ways that you can support Pennsylvania's Promise for Children:

1. Sign our declaration to support Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children.  
2. Learn about quality early learning in your district.
3. Be a reader during the Pennsylvania: One Book, Every Young Child campaign.  
4. Display information on quality early learning in your Harrisburg and district offices.
5. Become a champion for Pennsylvania’s children. 

Learn about quality early learning in your district

Quality early learning programs come in many shapes and sizes- school-based pre-kindergarten programs, Keystone STARS child care programs, Head Start programs, and others. Find out what quality early learning opportunities are available to your constituents. Many programs would be delighted to host a tour of their facility as well.

• Check out the "Early Education in my County" profiles to learn about the risk level of children in the county(ies) you serve and how many children are participating in early education programs.
• Your county’s early childhood community engagement group can provide you with the county’s community report card, which outlines early learning services in the county.
• You can find a listing of Keystone STARS programs by zip code or county at the Pennsylvania Key website.
• Visit the PA Head Start Association website for contact information for Head Start programs in each county.
• You may also contact Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts sites for more information and to visit.
• You can contact school districts in your district and ask them if they are providing quality pre-kindergarten to the children in their district and/or if they are partnering with other learning programs to make sure your district’s preschoolers make a smooth transition to kindergarten.

Be a reader during the Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child campaign

Each spring, hundreds of early learning programs open their doors for individuals to read a book to young children as part of the Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child campaign. As a reader, you can learn first-hand the value of quality early learning while having a little fun! To volunteer to read, contact the regional coordinator:

Regional coordinators for PA One Book:

Central Region - Dana Devito, 800-346-3020, x9724, dadevito@stepcorp.org
Northwest Region - Darlene Kovacs, 814-874-0144 ext 11, dkovacs@earlyconnectionserie.org
Northeast Region - Susan Ritter, 610-437-6000 x2329, sritter@cscinc.org
Southwest Region - Becky Mercatoris, 412-692-2718, rmercatoris@ywcapgh.org
South Central - Tammy Maskulyak, 717-854-3539 x290, tmaskulyakstars@yahoo.com
Southeast Angie Somogyi, 215-271-126, asomogyi@seregionalkey.org

Display information on quality early learning in your Harrisburg and district offices

Your constituents turn to you as a trusted resource for information that will improve their quality of life. Quality early education can make a huge difference in the life of a child and his family.

Here are some resources for more information:

• My child is learning from birth? Quality early learning opportunities for young children - brochures and bookmarks that explain the early childhood programs that are publicly-funded and available to families free or at low cost - you can obtain hard copies from your Early Childhood Community Engagement Group or contact us.
• Your county's Child Care Information Services (CCIS) agency has several brochures explaining the value of quality, how to choose quality child care, and how to apply for child care assistance.
• Your county's early childhood community engagement group publishes an annual community report card on early learning in the county and may be able to provide you with copies.

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Become a champion for Pennsylvania’s children

Pennsylvania is striving to better prepare children for school by increasing access to proven and successful early education programs. Nearly 90,000 of Pennsylvania’s 3 and 4 year olds are expected to participate in a quality early childhood program in 2006-07, which is 37,000 more children than were served in 2002-03. Impressive as these gains are, this is still only 31% of Pennsylvania’s 3 & 4 year olds. Many children at risk of academic failure are currently left without access and unable to reap the benefits of quality early learning.

Quality early learning opportunities for the young children in your district can improve the quality of life for all of your constituents. Your support can bring quality early learning to more children, preparing them for success in school and life. There simply are not enough legislators who are willing to speak out for our children’s education when it can have the most impact in their early years.

Help fulfill Pennsylvania's Promise for Children by supporting more early learning opportunities for Pennsylvania's young children.