Pennsylvania state Sen. Jarrett Coleman speaks to students at LCTI.

SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. — Lehigh Career & Technical Institute students met with Pennsylvania state Sen. Jarrett Coleman on Friday to advocate for early childhood education and early educators.

They also sought advice from the Lehigh Valley legislator on how to help people better understand that high-quality child care and preschool programs play a vital role in healthy economies.

Early Childhood Education students were inspired to contact Coleman after watching “Make a Circle,” a documentary that serves as both a love letter to early educators and a rallying cry for a child care system in crisis. They invited him to LCTI for a question-and-answer session and a tour of the school’s on-campus child care center, World of Imagination.

Coleman represents the commonwealth’s 16th District, which includes all or parts of the Allentown, East Penn, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern Lehigh, Parkland, and Southern Lehigh school districts.

The senator told students that government funding for early childhood education is tied to the priorities of his roughly 250,000-member constituency and those of voters across Pennsylvania. If advocates can convince voters and their legislators to prioritize early childhood education, the next step is figuring how much it will cost to do that effectively and where to get the money, he explained.

Education & the economy

Parkland High School senior Isabella Quintero said child care supports workforce stability by enabling parents to work while also preparing the next generation academically and socially. She asked Coleman, “What strategies do you believe would help strengthen the public understanding of child care and early education as an essential service for Pennsylvania’s economy?”

As the son of a single mother, Coleman says he understands why child care is an essential service. He encouraged students to use anecdotes reinforced by data to highlight the impact and value of early educators’ work for people who wrongly equate them with babysitters.

Safety in Pennsylvania schools

Whitehall High School senior Carter Stine noted that Coleman supports limiting cellphone use in schools to improve focus and safety. He asked the senator, “Beyond cell phone policies, how do you use your role in the Senate to support school safety initiatives, and what actions can future educators and caregivers take to contribute to safe and supportive learning environments?”

Coleman said he favors stepping up security at schools by hiring more police officers and armed guards to work on school campuses. Clear and timely communication with parents or guardians about potential security threats at school is important, too, said the senator, who sponsored legislation that became Act 44. The new law requires Pennsylvania schools to notify parents within 24 hours whenever a weapon is found on campus.

Early learning experiences

Southern Lehigh High School senior Baelyn Kline said she and her classmates are exploring how early learning experiences influence our perspectives later in life. Kline asked Coleman, “Did you attend preschool or kindergarten? What is one favorite memory that stands out to you, and what made it meaningful to you?”

Playtime with schoolmates during recess is some of his favorite memories from kindergarten, Coleman said. The Parkland graduate says he also remembers participating in Y-care, a before- and after-school care program the district runs in partnership with River Crossing YMCA.

Signs of quality preschool

Salisbury High School senior Samantha Conrad said many families are careful about what early learning program they choose because the first five years are so critical for brain development. She asked the senator, “If you have sent or will send your child to preschool, what qualities would you look for in a program to feel confident it was the best environment for them?”

Coleman, who has three children, ages 7, 5 and 2, said he’d look for a facility with modern playground equipment and a well-trained staff. His wife is a stay-at-home parent, he said, so their family doesn’t use child care.

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