High Costs Limit Access to Pre-K in PA

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Johnstown, PA (Sept. 3, 2014) – The push for preschool is not falling on deaf ears in Harrisburg. Early education initiatives received a 3 percent increase in funding over the previous year in the 2014-15 state budget. But according to a study released by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, the increases in funding won’t be enough to cover the 209,000 young children whose families cannot afford or cannot find a high quality preschool. For families still on the hunt for affordable preschool, The Learning Lamp is actively seeking new students for the 2014-15 school year.

“We still have spots available for 3- and 4-year-old students in Jennerstown, Richland, Somerset, and Westmont,” said Erica Ponczek, director of early learning and child development at The Learning Lamp. “We offer financial support to families in the form of scholarships and child care subsidy. Our programs are both high quality and affordable, so families can rest easy knowing their little ones are getting a great preschool education at a great price.”

High quality programs are defined as those licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, involved in Pre-K Counts, Head Start and the Keystone Stars quality child care initiative, or holding national accreditation. Locally, the number of Pre-K Counts and Head Start slots are limited. Plus, the cost of tuition prohibits many families from participating in private programs. With an average price tag of $8,800 a year,it’s an expense that even many middle class families cannot afford. Although the cost is traditionally lower in the Allegheny region, preschool tuition is still a stretch for many families. The lack of access coupled with the high cost has led to apreschool enrollment rate of just 18 percent in Pennsylvania.

To register your child for preschool at The Learning Lamp, please call 814-262-0732. For more information on the program, visit thelearninglamp.org.

The Learning Lamp is a nonprofit organization with a mission to engage all children in the support they need to succeed. We deliver high quality programs that are affordable and accessible to families of all income levels. The Learning Lamp served 18,468 children from 70 school districts and 36 non-public and private schools and other organizations in 32 Pennsylvania counties in 2013.

Our programs include: one-to-one tutoring; before/after school programs; portable classrooms aimed at building math and science skills; alternative education programs for at-risk students; evidence-based prevention programs; online learning and credit recovery; SAT preparation; educationally-focused child care; literacy-based preschool programs; and grant writing and project consulting for schools.