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Three retired U.S. Army generals, including Kingston resident Maj. Gen. Joseph Perugino, came to Wilkes-Barre this morning to push for what they argued is a critical national security need: high-quality pre-school programs.
“The current military involves complex technology,” Lt. Gen. Dennis Benchoff said. “We no longer recruit from pool halls and gas stations.” The military looks for high school graduates, he added, yet 72 percent of Pennsylvanians ages 17 to 24 don’t make muster for military enlistment.
Benchoff and the others who spoke at an event hosted at the King’s College Early Learning Center cited three reasons for the ineligibility: They were too poorly educated and could not pass the military entrance tests, they were physically unfit, or they had criminal records.
The failure to qualify for military service bodes poorly for civilian work as well, Perugino said, citing his experience as a company CEO after retiring from the military. “When we hired a secretary we had to screen 20 to 25 people before finding one who was qualified,” he said.
The three generals are part of “Mission: Readiness,” a group of military leaders urging expansion of quality pre-school programs. They cite numerous studies over the years that show access to quality pre-school programs can improve academic outcomes later.
The event was held to unveil a report from Mission: Readiness dubbed “The Military Gets it,” which cites recent studies in New Jersey showing children with access to preschool programs were three-fourths of a year ahead in math and two-thirds of a year ahead in literacy when they reached fourth and fifth grades. They also were 31 percent less likely to be in special education and 40 percent less likely to held back in school.
A Chicago study showed at-risk students served by one preschool program were 29 percent more likely to graduate from high school, while those who didn’t get into the program were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by 18.
The report cites data that shows more than 200,000 children ages 3 and 4 in Pennsylvania do not have access to quality preschool programs. In contrast, Benchoff noted, the military provides that service at all of its installations.
The advocacy campaign Pre-K for PA released county-level data with the report showing that, in Luzerne County, the number of children ages 3 and 4 without access to programs is 6,765, or 67 percent. In Lackawanna County it’s 4,722, or 53 percent, while in Wyoming County it’s 650, or 80 percent.
Maj. Gen. Daniel O’Neill pointed to his own experience as a school district superintendent in Wayne County where students met all state academic benchmarks annually despite economic disadvantages, citing it as proof obstacles can be overcome. He noted that along with preschool programs, the district started an after school program because the majority of crimes by juveniles “are committed between 3 and 5 p.m.”
“Don’t let anybody ever say it can’t be done,” O’Neill said.
Perugino said “the brain is already wired “by the age of 8 or 10,” and that makes sense to spend money helping them when they are younger rather than later in life.
After the speeches, the generals read to some of the children in the center. Perugino, 76, looked at the toddler-size chair and chuckled. “That’s the first challenge,” he said and he moved to sink into it. As he talked to the children, all ages two and tree, some were quick to offer opinions and comments, prompting him to quip “I think you’re going to be a general,” to one.
Amid the chatter he offered a broader observation: “I feel like I’m back training recruits.”