Non-Mollycoddlers Argue for Early Education

When social services types want to save their agency’s funding, they often round up the usual suspects – people they’ve helped and program representatives – to make their case. 

So you’d expect to read a story saying Sara George of Community Services for Children was touting the advantages of Head Start to an aide to U.S. Senator Pat Toomey. What made the Nov. 2 story in The Morning Call stand out were the unusual suspects making the case. 

A group of law enforcement officers called Fight Crime: Invest in Kids contacted George about meeting with Toomey aide Marta Gabriel to talk about the importance of early childhood education. Fight Crime is an “anti-crime organization of over 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violence survivors,” according to its web site. We’re not talking about mollycoddlers here. 

Toomey sits on Congress’ so-called “supercommittee,” which is charged with coming up with a plan to cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion by Thanksgiving. George told me she has no idea if Head Start funding is on the chopping block, but said this: “My sense is anything that is considered an entitlement or discretionary spending is essentially up for grabs.” 

Joining her to make the case were Allentown Police Chief Roger MacLean, PPL Community Affairs Director Donald Bernhard and former Air Products Chairman Edward Donley. 

Bernhard, who serves on the Community Services board, told me children with a year of Head Start do better on math and reading tests, as well as with social skills, like paying attention and asking questions. A study released in October found that students in Harrisburg public schools who had been in Head Start in 2002 and 2003 scored higher on standardized math and reading tests through fifth grade than their peers who hadn’t had Head Start.  

“Once you’re looking at high school kids who are behind the curve, it’s pretty darn hard to fix that and produce the graduates that the economy needs,” said Bernhard, who is also chairman of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. 

MacLean cited research that showed children left out of a Chicago pre-kindergarten program were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18.  

Their arguments are echoed by Mission: Readiness, a national group of retired military leaders, who support early childhood education as a way to better prepare young people who want to serve in the military. The group says 75 percent of Americans ages 17 to 24 aren’t eligible for service because they haven’t graduated from high school, have a criminal record or are physically unfit.  

Head Start takes a holistic approach, working with kids and their parents on everything from literacy and math skills to discipline techniques, nutrition and immunizations.  

About 5,000 kids are eligible for Head Start and Early Head Start in Lehigh and Northampton counties but Community Services only has the funding to enroll about 1,200 of them at five classroom locations, including in Bethlehem and Easton, George said. 

No doubt reducing the federal deficit requires tough choices. But Congress needs to listen when even the non-mollycoddlers say giving at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds a head start is a smart investment for the country.