Education

By Ayanna M. Lee

Pennsylvania is one of only nine states that lack state-sponsored pre-school educational programs. Yet Pennsylvania is home to more than 700,000 children under the age of five. We must provide these children with a solid start into their educational futures by investing in quality head start, pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten programs throughout our communities. The early years of a child's education have an incredible impact on their success in life.

We must continue to improve the funding and management structure of Pennsylvania's public elementary and secondary schools. I attended the inner-city public school system until I reached high school and can relate to many of the struggles and obstacles our children are facing. We must demand that all our public schools have adequate resources available to the students and that children are receiving appropriate curriculum and guidance to enable their success.

Serving as a youth mentor in a program partnered with the public school system has enabled me to experience first hand the great need for improvement throughout our schools. We must do everything possible to give all our students high quality public education because there are no options or excuses when it comes to preparing our children for the future.