50,000 More in Affluent Classrooms, Ten Times Less in Poor Classrooms

The gaping disparity of resources between wealthy and poor school districts grew more severe in the last four years.  The top 20% of the state’s wealthiest school districts increased the amount of money they spend to educate a child at ten times the rate of the state’s poorest 20% of school districts from 2010-2014, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Source: AP analysis of state Department of Education Data

The gap between rich and poor school districts more than doubled in the four years of the Corbett administration in part due to the $1 billion cut made to education in 2010-2011 that has yet to be fully restored.  Pennsylvania’s wealthy school districts can more easily lean on their local tax base to meet the needs of their students than poor districts where the local tax burden is often disproportionately high.

The solution to closing the gap and creating quality schools in every community is for the state to adopt a funding formula that is fair, equitable and meets the real costs of educating children.  More than 50 diverse organizations are working together in the Campaign for Fair Education Funding to ensure that Pennsylvania adopts and maintains an adequate and equitable system of funding public education by 2016.  You can join the campaign by clicking here.

You can also join PCCY in Harrisburg for our fair funding action days starting on February 4th. Click here to sign up.

Check out What People are Saying About PCCY

Pennsylvania Ranks Third Worst in Important Early Learning Category

Pennsylvania ranks a disturbing 48th in the nation when it comes to the gap between the share of poor and non-poor children enrolled in preschool, according to a new report from Education Week.  The report shows that while Pennsylvania is in the middle of the pack in terms of preschool enrollment, children in families that make more than $100K annually are 60% more likely to be enrolled in preschool than poor children in families with an income of $50,000 or less.

The report also shows that less than half of Pennsylvania children who qualify for Head Start are enrolled because there is far too little federal and state funding for the program.

The Pennsylvania state legislature can close this unfair gap and give more children the opportunity to succeed in school by expanding access to high-quality, publically-funded pre-k. Currently, Pennsylvania spends $48 million less on early education programs than it did in 2010-2011.

You can be a voice for children by signing up for the Pre-K for PA Campaign. Click here to sign up.

How YOU can Support our Region’s Children and have Fun at the Same Time

Did you make a New Year’s resolution?  If not, how about resolving to support our region’s children?

You can support kids and have fun too by coming to this year’s celebration of the 2015 Public Citizen for Children and Youth set for April 29th, 2015.  Click here for details and to buy your tickets.

Check out the video below.  You WON’T want to miss this great night of fun to benefit southeastern Pennsylvania’s children!