Mayor Nutter Unveils Citywide Early Learning Plan, ‘A Running Start Philadelphia’
Philadelphia, June 2, 2015 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter, City and early-education leaders announced the launch of the City’s new plan, A Running Start Philadelphia: For Every Child, Birth to Five, with the goal of providing high-quality early learning for all Philadelphia children from birth to age five. A Running Start is designed to ensure the early learning services that currently exist in child care centers and in private homes are of the highest quality—and to expand opportunities so Philadelphia’s families with young children can benefit.
“With this plan, Philadelphia has developed a strategy to support its children and families by building stronger schools to create a more competitive workforce,” said Mayor Nutter. “High quality early learning is a proven way to help people overcome poverty, which is why we need to make it part of every child’s birthright as Philadelphians, as Pennsylvanians and as Americans.”
A Running Start Philadelphia is the latest initiative to grow out of Shared Prosperity Philadelphia, the plan introduced by the City two years ago to address persistent poverty in the city. Shared Prosperity works to coordinate, expand and track efforts in five areas: jobs, public benefits, housing, economic security, and early learning.
For more of the Mayor’s remarks on A Running Start, read here.