PITTSBURGH – To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis visited the Shady Lane School in Pittsburgh and heard from early childhood education teachers and experts about the need for more child care workers.
“Ninety percent of brain growth happens before kindergarten, which demonstrates how critical those first five years are in setting a child up for success,” said Davis. “Early childhood education is so important, but it’s facing a workforce crisis. That’s why the Shapiro-Davis budget puts more resources into early childhood education, so we can help address staffing shortages in so many programs across the Commonwealth.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposes a $30 million increase in Pre-K Counts funding and nearly $3 million more for the Head Start Supplemental Program, to help address staffing shortages in early childhood education programs. The Shapiro-Davis budget also increases child care services funding by $66.7 million to allow 75,000 low-income families to continue to be enrolled in subsidized care.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis speaks during roundtable discussion, more photos/video available at PAcast.com
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis greets Shady Lane School students, more photos/video available at PAcast.com
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