Thank you seems so insignificant as I, and many others working within and alongside the early learning system in Pennsylvania say good bye to one of the most amazing women with whom I have ever had the pleasure of working.  

When you hear people say, "Pennsylvania has come a long way in the last eight years" they are referring to the remarkable gains in early childhood education. It was not that long ago that this Commonwealth was near the bottom of the barrel of states that invested little to support early childhood education.

All of that has changed. Early learning priorities, including pre-kindergarten, state-based Head Start and a model quality rating system have taken Pennsylvania to the top of the list of state's working to improve early childhood education for the nation. The diligent efforts of the thousands of hard-working people both inside and outside of our state government has been monumental.

At the core of that work and the common denominator throughout this "evolution" has been Harriet Dichter, former Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare and Deputy Secretary of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning.

Working with Harriet over the past few years has personally challenged me and I can say that I am a much better person for it.  Being both a visionary and understanding the detailed work needed to achieve that vision, Harriet has pushed us to push ourselves to greater heights.  What we once thought was unachievable is now daily routine, what we once thought of as road blocks are now objects in the rearview mirror.  Many times over the past 5 years I have said to myself - how can we keep moving and motivating at this pace?  I now think, "How can we not?" 

A great many things have come to be......Keystone STARS;  Pre-K Counts; state funded Head Start; OCDEL;  an Early Learning Investment Commission and so much more. We not only have supporters with state-wide, executive level reach but also strong local community support through six Regional Keys and 50+ Community Engagement Groups.  The list of lives that Harriet has impacted is incredibly long and I gratefully include mine on that list.

With a new administration taking office in 2011, we are the ones left to make sure this work continues. We know that investment in early childhood education makes sense. The continuum of education - birth to age five - drives better outcomes in education, health and economic prosperity. The groundwork has been laid. Pennsylvania must continue to make that early investment as Pennsylvania's children are our future.

So, even though her work has ended in Pennsylvania's administration, Harriet has taken on a new position with the First Five Years Fund in WashingtonD.C. fighting for the nation's children.  I do feel that it is only fair that we warn the other 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories of a couple things about working with her .....actually, on the other hand, maybe we will just let them find out for themselves...... why take the fun out of it. 

Thank you Harriet for sharing your passion, vision, dedication and for believing we could always do more.  You have made a significant difference and impacted Pennsylvania families and communities for years to come.