September 5th, 2014

Student Letter Reading Outside Governor’s Office Monday

The Philadelphia cigarette tax increase for schools is still not secured. Join PCCY and elected officials this Monday, September 8th, for a Read-In outside the Governor’s Philadelphia office as we share thousands of letters written by Philadelphia students. Stop by any time between 8am and 3pm to show your support by reading letters for 15 minutes, holding a sign or learning more about PCCY’s education work.

Bipartisan Funding Commission Established to Recommend Improvements to Funding Public Schools

The state budget passed in June failed to enact a school funding formula and failed to provide schools across the state with the funding needed to support a quality education for children. Instead of funding the schools, the legislature established a Commission to develop recommendations for a school funding formula. The bipartisan group of 15 elected and appointed officials is charged with making recommendations for improving the way public schools are funded in Pennsylvania by next June. The legislation establishing the Commission falls short because it doesn’t require members to examine what level of state funding is needed to support high quality schools or whether the state is adequately funding districts.

Representative Mike Vereb from Montgomery County serves as the Commission’s co-chair and is the ranking House Republican on the Commission. His co-chair is the ranking Senate Republican, Pat Browne from Allentown. While Representative Vereb was unable to attend the second Commission meeting, a statement was read in his stead that indicated that the House Republicans strenuously oppose any Commission discussion of whether the state is providing the level of funding needed for our schools. Representative Donna Oberlander, stated:

“This Commission’s charge is not to set a so-called adequate level of basic education funding. The responsibility of determining a funding level belongs to the General Assembly and is based each year on overall state revenues.”

ال Funding Commission will host its third hearing on September 9th in Allentown with six more hearings scheduled through the end of the year. Three hearings are scheduled in our region: October 16 in Montgomery County and November 18 and 19 in Philadelphia. PCCY is launching a resource center for PCCY supporters who want to learn about the Commission and stay abreast of the Commission’s activities and of course we will let our supporters know how they can attend and participate in these important hearings.

Less Childhood Hunger, Better Students

Some great news today! More and more school districts are offering free breakfast and lunch to their students. Legions of research provide ample evidence that students learn more and behave better when they aren’t hungry in school. That’s why the new federal rule to expand access to free breakfast and lunch makes so much sense.
The new federal rule permits districts where at least 40% of their students meet the federal income guidelines for free breakfast or lunch to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students. The new federal rule called the Community Eligibility Option removes the free lunch stigma by making all students eligible and eliminates an enormous paperwork burden on high poverty school districts.

Today, the Philadelphia School District, the largest in the state, announced that it will adopt the Community Eligibility option and offer free breakfast and lunch to all students. This is particularly good new since PCCY’s research in 2013 indicated that only about 40 percent of students who were eligible for free breakfast received a meal at the start of the school day from the district. And data from 2012 indicates that about nearly 70% received a subsidized lunch. Hopefully this sound move by the District will increase the number of children who start the school day ready to learn and help reduce childhood hunger in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia isn’t the only district in our region that can take advantage of this terrific new federal rule, Pottstown School District is already on board and Chester Upland, Bristol Borough and Norristown can do so as well.

Seniors on Board for Pre-K

Seniors make up a significant portion of Pennsylvania’s electorate, and they care deeply about ensuring all children arrive to kindergarten ready to learn and build a foundation for a lifetime of learning and success.

In fact, recent analysis commissioned by Pre-K for PA shows that:

• A 60 percent majority of Pennsylvania’s seniors support every 3-and 4-year-old having access to voluntarily, high-quality pre-k programs; and
• A 55 percent majority of Pennsylvania’s seniors is in favor of increasing state funding for early learning opportunities.

Kelly, a grandmother to three and an educator in Central Pennsylvania recently told the Pre-K for PA campaign:

“If all the children of Pennsylvania have a chance to receive quality preschool programming, we will build a generation of children who will will seek out higher education opportunities and become strong leaders. I ask for support of all quality preschool programs for every child in Pennsylvania. If we make the investment now in their education, we are investing in the future of our state. Thank you for your attention to this issue.”

September 7th is Grandparents’ Day. Join Pre-K for PA على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي الفيسبوك أو تويتر and share your story as a grandparent who wants to see the next Governor make Pre-K available for every three and four year old in Pennsylvania.