PHILADELPHIA – The Commission on Universal Pre-Kindergarten delivered its draft report to the Mayor’s Office, Philadelphia City Council and the public-at-large today. On May 19, 2015, Philadelphia voters approved the formation of the seventeen-member Commission to be appointed by former Mayor Nutter and City Council. The Commission was charged with investigating the expansion of affordable access to quality pre-K for Philadelphia children in need. Otis Hackney, the City’s chief education officer, accepted the report on behalf of the Kenney Administration.
“Over the last seven months, this Commission has worked tirelessly to live up to our charge of improving the educational future of Philadelphia’s three and four year olds,” said co-chairs Rev. Sharon Easterling, head of the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, and Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott, vice president of Health and Health Equity at Drexel, in a joint statement. “This draft report covers our initial findings, which were drawn from early childhood education research, a thorough review of the current state of pre-K in Philadelphia as well as feedback from pre-K providers, parents and District educators. We will continue to collect feedback from stakeholders over the next four weeks, and we will submit a final report, inclusive of that additional public input, in April.”
The 56-page draft report discusses the city’s current early childhood education landscape, and also provides options for future workforce development, quality standards, and cost models for an expansion of quality pre-K to Philadelphia children in need. This Commission’s executive summary and full draft reportare available for download. Public feedback can be sent toprekcommission@phila.gov.
“I thank the Commission for their work,” said Councilwoman Blackwell, who introduced the resolution calling for the Commission in early 2015. “Affordable access to quality early childhood education can make the difference between a child who graduates high school and one who drops out, so pre-K expansion in Philadelphia is critical to turning around our schools and ending the cycle of poverty. I look forward to working with the Mayor to evaluate the Commission’s recommendations and to present a final plan for a vote in City Council.”
“There should be no doubt that expanding quality pre-K is essential to improving our schools and supporting our working families and their children. It is without a doubt one element towards ending the cycle of poverty in Philadelphia,” said Councilwoman Reynolds-Brown, who serves on the Commission. “I look forward to working closely with the Mayor as we collectively seek to make a paradigm shift in how we provide early childhood education across our City’s diverse neighborhoods. As a Councilwoman, the first legislation I ever introduced was on early childhood education, this issue is deeply personal to me and I am so proud that our Commission is tackling it in such a thoughtful and diligent way.”