Education

Thanks to Governor Rendell's leadership, Pennsylvania is making tremendous strides in providing a high-quality education for every child. The Governor’s targeted investments in proven programs are paying off, with student performance increasing across the board.

The Center for Education Policy, a leading national educational research organization, cited Pennsylvania as the only state to make across-the-board academic gains from 2002 through 2008.

The most recent PSSA results show that progress continued in 2009.

Nearly 80 percent of Pennsylvania’s public schools met the required academic goals of the federal No Child Left Behind law for 2009, and that progress was driven by the school districts that have received the most significant increases in state resources since 2002. Those districts saw an average 37 percent increase in the proportion of students performing at grade level in reading and math. The 50 districts where the state invested the most since 2002 showed an average 41 percent increase in the proportion of students performing on grade level in grades 5, 8 and 11 – the three grades tested longest.

Since taking office in 2003, Governor Rendell has achieved major progress on all of the commonwealth's education goals, including:

• A new funding formula that puts more resources in classrooms and moves school districts towards adequate resource levels through stronger state funding, helping keep property taxes down while also ensuring a quality education in each of the commonwealth’s 500 school districts.
• Expansion of highly successful, quality, early childhood education initiatives.
• Additional support to ensure that every student earns a meaningful high school diploma.

Adequate School Funding

• Since taking office, Governor Rendell has increased public education funding by more than $3 billion.
• Governor Rendell's 2009-10 education budget increases basic education funding by nearly 6 percent, providing an additional $300 million – the largest one-year increase in Pennsylvania history.
• The 2009-10 budget also continues the use of a landmark school funding formula that puts more resources into our classrooms and moves school districts towards adequate resource levels. The plan would invest $2.6 billion over a six-year period to address funding inadequacies and ensure all children have the necessary resources to achieve academic success.

Early Childhood Education

Before Governor Rendell took office, Pennsylvania was one of only nine states that failed to fund pre-kindergarten. It has since become a national leader in early childhood education.

The 2009-10 budget provides $86.4 million for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, a program to give 11,800 more children an early start to learning through quality pre-kindergarten programs in school districts and other proven community partners.

The $271 million Accountability Block Grant program will fund 2,900 pre-kindergarten slots, put 52,600 children in full-day kindergarten and provide smaller class sizes to 16,000 students in 2009-10.

This year’s budget also provides $39.5 million in supplemental aid to the federal Head Start program, enabling another 11,800 children to enroll in pre-kindergarten.

A Meaningful High School Diploma

A cornerstone of Governor Rendell’s education effort is the commitment that all students will be ready for college and high-skilled careers when they graduate from high school.
To help achieve that goal, the Department of Education has been working to increase crucial services to students, including developing a voluntary model curriculum for a more rigorous and challenging high school experience and providing school districts with new tools to identify and help struggling students and enhance teacher training.

The 2009-10 budget provides $8 million for Dual Enrollment, which enables high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college-level courses and receive both secondary and postsecondary credit for that coursework.

Dual Enrollment is designed to serve a wide-range of students, including those who attend college at disproportionately low rates and who might not otherwise see college as a post-high school option.

Building On Our Investments

Ensuring that our students graduate with the skills they need to be successful will put many on the path to higher education, and Governor Rendell’s 2009-10 budget continues the commonwealth’s efforts to make college available and affordable to all.

PHEAA Grants to Students – the state’s tuition grant program – received $403.6 million in state funding this year.  At the same time, Pennsylvania students will receive an additional $262 million in Pell Grants as a result of the federal stimulus package.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education will be able to spend $519.2 million in 2009-10 through combined state and federal funding and the community colleges will be funded at $235.7 million.

In addition, the budget legislation includes a dramatic expansion of Pennsylvania’s successful Transfer & Articulation System, which ensures that students receive the maximum possible credits when they move from one college to another.

The Governor’s overall education strategy will not only enhance the learning experience of all students, but it will help create a well-prepared, competitive workforce that will help Pennsylvania thrive in the global economy.

We are keeping our standards and support high to achieve not only the goals of federal law but the moral mandate of state government: to ensure that every young person, regardless of geographic location, receives a level of education that will guarantee his or her place as a productive resident of Pennsylvania.