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By Paula Holzman
Children in more than two-thirds of Pennsylvania's counties are at moderate or high risk for educational failure, according to a report released today by the state departments of Education and Public Welfare.
Report authors calculated risk based on seven factors, including family income level, whether children lived in a single-parent family, parental educational levels, amount of government assistance to the area and local standardized-test scores.
In the midstate, Cumberland and York counties were judged to be at moderate-low risk, Lancaster and Lebanon counties were at moderate-high risk, and Dauphin County was classified as high risk.
The report spotlights the benefits early-childhood education programs can have for at-risk children. For example, children who attend these programs "are more likely to graduate from high school, to attend college or quality job-training programs, and be valuable members of the workforce," the report states.
Workforce groups such as the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board and community groups such as YorkCounts recognize the role that early-childhood education plays in the development of a well-trained workforce.
An average of 38 percent of Pennsylvania children between birth and age 5 participated in federal- and state-funded "quality" early-childhood programs during the 2007-08 school year, according to the report.
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