York, PA – Community Connections for Children (CCC), York County Economic Alliance (YCEA), and ECHO (Every Child Has Opportunities) were pleased to host the Early Childhood Education Spotlight Breakfast and provider tour on Tuesday, November 19.
Spotlight Breakfast
During the spotlight breakfast presentation, held at The Yorktowne Hotel, attendees heard from top community leaders along with national leaders, Swati Adarkar, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education and Ralph Smith, the Managing Director at Campaign for Grade Level Reading.
Provider Tour
Participants boarded a Rabbittransit bus to visit four early childhood education providers:
- Crispus Attucks York Early Learning Center
- Jack and Jill Nursery Inc
- First Church of the Brethren Child
- Werner Early Learning Childcare Center
This event was an opportunity to come together to experience high quality early learning programs right here in York County, and to meet and hear directly from early learning educators, program directors, and business owners.
ECHO was launched in 2024 in direct response to the crisis in early childhood education faced in York County, our Commonwealth, and our nation. In 2020, pre-pandemic, York County had 221 early childhood education providers. In three years, that number dropped to 170. Those that survived the pandemic are operating on average at 85% of typical enrollment due to teacher and workforce shortages. Early childhood education program waitlists average 50-75 children, and many have stopped adding to their lists.
Pennsylvania suffers a $3.47 billion impact due to childcare issues in lost tax revenue and employer costs. Over half of employers in PA said one of the most significant reasons they lost employees was due to childcare issues. According to American Progress, in Pennsylvania, 57 percent of all residents live in a childcare desert, defined as an area where there are more than three times as many children as licensed childcare slots.
ECHO is administered by Community Connections for Children (CCC) and the York County Economic Alliance (YCEA) with philanthropic support from J. William Warehime Foundation, Powder Mill Foundation, WellSpan Health, United Way of York County, York County Community Foundation, and Kinsley Foundation.
