Pennsylvania Business Leaders Join Call to Action on Early Childhood Education

One of Only 12 States to Receive Funding to Bolster Best Practices in Early
Learning

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National experts and more
than 170 business executives from around Pennsylvania convened this week for
the first-ever Economic Summit on Early Childhood Investment, a forum to
examine ways the business sector can help make quality early education a
reality for Pennsylvania's young children.

The summit, hosted by the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission,
was attended by Harriet Dichter, deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Office
of Child Development and Early Learning, Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. and
officials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others.

Rob Grunewald, an associate economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of
Minneapolis, told attendees that the long-term return on investment for
quality early education far exceeds historical returns from the stock market,
with most benefits being public benefits.

"Investing in workforce development is where we will have an impact on the
productivity of the workforce," he said.

Lydia Logan, of the Institute for a Competitive Workforce at the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, said investment in early education has become one of the
institute's focus areas. She noted businesses in the United States spend more
than $60 billion each year on remedial education and private training to teach
people skills and knowledge they should have developed in school.

Governor Edward G. Rendell has made early childhood learning a cornerstone of
his educational policies, making record investments in early childhood
education and creating the Office of Childhood Development and Early Learning,
the first-ever commonwealth entity devoted to early childhood education.

Since taking office in 2003, Governor Rendell has worked with state lawmakers
to target unprecedented investments into proven education programs, including
those that focus on the critical developmental continuum from birth to age
five. Thanks to these investments, more than 170,000 children have access to
higher quality child care through Keystone STARS, and about 11,800 children
have become enrolled in approximately 920 Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts
classrooms.

The Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission was created in September
2008 through Executive Order. The purpose of the commission is to secure
public investment in early learning by focusing on practices that are
educationally, economically and scientifically sound by increasing business,
civic and public awareness of the importance of early childhood education.

Twenty-six business leaders were appointed by Governor Rendell from across the
state to be members of this commission. The honorary chairs are Governor
Rendell and James Rohr, Chairman and President of The PNC Financial Services
Group.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An agenda, presentations and background materials from the
summit are available online at http://paprom.convio.net/ELIC.
CONTACT: Michael Race
(717) 783-9802

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education

Michael Race of Pennsylvania Department of Education, +1-717-783-9802