skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NY Leads the Way in Push for Pre-K and Kids’ Concerns

play audio
Play

Thursday, May 30, 2013   

ALBANY, N.Y. - After years of flat spending, New York - with the backing of Gov. Andrew Cuomo - has committed $25 million toward making pre-kindergarten education available to all of the state's children, especially those in high-need districts.

Advocates for early childhood care say that's a good start.

Dovetailing with a national campaign around the Obama administration's plan to invest $75 billion in early education, Empire State advocates are holding rallies and events around the state to whip up support for the efforts in Albany and Washington.

Jasmine Gripper, early childhood campaign coordinator for the Alliance for Quality Education, has firsthand knowledge of the benefits, having been a first-grade teacher the past four years.

"Students who don't have the early learning, the pre-K and the kindergarten, they come into first grade way behind their peers and it's so difficult for them to catch up," she said.

Citing studies that show every $1 invested in quality pre-K saves $7 down the road, advocates say students who attend high-quality pre-K typically experience higher academic achievement, go on to college and secure higher-paying jobs. Resistance, though, comes from lawmakers reluctant to increase government spending.

Peggy Liuzzi, executive director of Child Care Solutions, a nonprofit child-care resource and referral agency in Syracuse, said it can be tough for legislators to call for spending.

"'On my watch, I'm recommending - I'm supporting - expenditures that are going to pay off in 10, 15, 20 years," she said. "It takes some courage to do that, but it's the right thing to do. It's the wise thing to do."

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, said he's fully behind the early education push, but he sees the sequestration cuts that are limiting participation in the Head Start program as an immediate problem.

"To have 70,000 fewer children who would have been served by Head Start knowing that they're not going to have access to the program by the end of the year is a very, very horrible outcome," he said.

Helen Blank, director of the National Women's Law Center, welcomes New York's efforts on behalf of early care and education.

"The effort here is critical to jump-start all of this, and there's such a tremendous need that we do need a strong state and federal partnership," she said. "So Gov. Cuomo's interest in expanding pre-K and extending the day - it's all terrific and it'll just all be additive."

The events that make up the "Early Learning Days of Action," will unfold over the next two weeks in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Albany, Long Island and New York City.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


A 2022 report finds failing to speed up transmission beyond the current pace will increase 2030 U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 800 million tons per year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021