Early+Childhood+Ed

=__//A Framework for Early Childhood Education//__ = A key to the future of Pennsylvania's success is not merely education, in general, but, specifically, quality early education. All structures must begin with a good, solid foundation. The structure of education is a house that rooms many of the Commonwealth's hopes for a better tomorrow. Early childhood education needs to serve as the foundation that supports education's house. Quality early learning opportunities are essential for Pennsylvania's hope of economic recovery today and the state's economic competitiveness tomorrow. Quality early education provides Pennsylvania's and Beaver County's children with a leading edge in academic achievement and the possibility of future career success in a globally competitive workforce. Early education also provides much needed support to the family unit. The Pennsylvania Department of Education's Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has been created to enhance educational opportunities for Pennsylvania's youngest children and to create a quality early education continuum. It is to assist in this goal that this webpage will offer information and web-based links to inform educators/administrators within the Beaver County region.  For example, OCDEL has reported that children in nearly 70% of Pennsylvania's counties are at moderate-high to high risk of school failure. More than 36% or one third of Pennsylvania's children under the age of five live in a low income family environment. Pre-school aged children in Beaver County are affected by risk factors such as poverty, living with a single parent who has only a high school education or less, learning English as a second language, not to mention physical or mental disabilities and developmental delays. Small children also suffer disadvantages because of a lack of adequate pre-school or day care facilities in particular areas of the county. Factors such as these make success in kindergarten programs difficult, not to mention future academic success in subsequent grades. Speaking of kindergarten, the move toward recognizing the importance of full day kindergarten programs over half day, alternating day or extended day programs has not been lost on the state of Pennsylvania. In the 2002-2003 school year, there were only 42,015 full day, everyday kindergarten programs operating in the Commonwealth. In 2008-2009 that number has almost doubled (to 77,505). In Beaver County that number is growing as well. New Brighton School District is moving to a full day, everyday program in the 2009-2010 school year.

With the announcement and release of President Obama's economic stimulus package districts in Beaver County will be looking, potentially, to expand existing early childhood programs such as kindergarten or considering instituting new ones, such as Pre-K classrooms. It is hoped that the OCDEL information presented on this link will assist in supporting these efforts for the betterment of education within Beaver County School Districts.

Ronald Ladick, Ed.D. Chairman, PDE Kindergarten Advisory Committee Member, Pennsylvania Early Learning Counci l