Resolution 230637

..Title Authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth to hold hearings to evaluate existing support services for Early Childhood Education and Pre-K Centers and Providers and to examine the role of high-quality Early Childhood Education and Pre-K opportunities in addressing childhood poverty and promoting the future academic success of children in Philadelphia. ..Body WHEREAS, Philadelphia has a large and diverse population of young children, with more than 100,000 children under the age of 5 residing in the city; and WHEREAS, Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Pre-K programs are important to addressing childhood poverty and promoting future academic success of children because they provide children with a strong foundation of academic and social skills; and WHEREAS, Children from low-income families often start school with fewer resources and experiences than their more affluent peers. This achievement gap can have long-term consequences, including lower academic achievement, higher dropout rates, and limited job opportunities; and WHEREAS, Fully funding and supporting ECE and Pre-K programs helps to address this gap by providing children with access to quality education that can help to level the playing field and give all children the opportunity to succeed; and WHEREAS, By participating in ECE and Pre-K programs, children develop important social and emotional skills, such as self-regulation, communication, and problem-solving. They also have the opportunity to learn basic academic skills, such as letter recognition, counting, and pre-reading skills, which can help them to achieve academic success in later years; and WHEREAS, ECE and Pre-K programs can provide access to healthcare, nutrition, and other support services that are important for children's development. Programs may offer screenings for hearing and vision problems, as well as opportunities for parents to learn about healthy nutrition and child development; and WHEREAS, Early learning and care is an issue of gender, racial, and economic justice. It raises fundamental questions about unequal investment in early childhood development, the devaluation of the people who care for our children, and the growing economic stress on the care workforce and our families the longer we fail to address the crisis; and WHEREAS, It is imperative to evaluate the availability and accessibility of quality early childhood education and Pre-K services in Philadelphia, as well as the best practices for supporting early childhood education and Pre-K centers, including strategies for engaging families and caregivers in the education process; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby authorizes the Committee on Children and Youth to hold hearings to evaluate existing support services for Early Childhood Education and Pre-K Centers and Providers and to examine the role of high-quality Early Childhood Education and Pre-K opportunities in addressing childhood poverty and promoting the future academic success of children in Philadelphia. ..End