Learning is a lifelong process – starting at birth, when children begin to build the cognitive, emotional and character skills that will help them stick to a task, control their impulses and speak their minds.
As young children, adolescents and adults, the kids with those "soft" skills are apt to do well in any setting. It's easier, cheaper and smarter to nurture those skills before kindergarten. Quality early learning today delivers returns decades into the future, in the form of higher lifetime earnings and less need for remedial steps in K-12 schools.
These facts were underscored by President Obama in his 2013 State of the Union address, when he called on Congress to expand access to high-quality preschool for every child. With a bipartisan group of 10 fellow lawmakers, Washington State Senator Patty Murray met his challenge in November by introducing the Strong Start for America's Children Act of 2013.
The Act would offer federal funds to states that expand access to quality early learning. It offers more infants and toddlers the chance to participate in high-quality programs and services, including child care, Early Head Start, and home visiting. It gives Early Head Start programs – whose benefits to early development have been proven by rigorous research – the ability to reach more eligible children through innovative partnerships with high-quality child care programs. It would allow our state to make sure child care settings are providing quality opportunities for children to prepare for kindergarten. And it supports the expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs, which have a range of positive impacts on parenting and early development.
The Children's Alliance is asking members of Washington's Congressional delegation to follow Senator Murray's lead. It's the right investment for the right reasons.
Quality early learning can close the grade-school opportunity gap faced by too many young children of color. That gap shows up in official data in kindergarten. A 2012 survey of kindergarteners' basic skills found Asian, Pacific Islander, black, Native American and Latino children trailing white children in cognitive readiness by 11 to 30 percent. In third grade, standardized tests reveal a disproportionate number of black, Latino and American Indian children aren't yet reading at grade level.
Inequity in a child's early years is a problem we know how to solve. A stable, nurturing early learning environment is one effective antidote to the damaging impact of poverty and homelessness. Early childhood stress can be toxic, altering the brain architecture babies depend on for the rest of their lives.
Obama, Murray and her fellow Congress members aren't the only public officials who understand the importance of early investment. Here in Seattle, our elected representatives have begun to notice, too. The Seattle City Council, with the leadership of Councilman Tim Burgess, is considering universal voluntary preschool for all 3- and 4-year-old children in the city. If done correctly, this initiative could boost the academic achievement of thousands of Seattle children – and also help high-quality preschool providers effectively serve specific communities. State lawmakers have committed to expanding the state-funded counterpart to Head Start, the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, over the next five years so that it reaches every income-eligible child.
We all count on today's children to become the workers and engaged citizens of tomorrow. We all need to think about smart measures that close the educational opportunity gap – measures proven to work powerfully in the first few years of the lives of children.
Jon Gould is deputy director of the Children's Alliance, a statewide public policy advocacy organization that works at the state and federal levels to ensure that all children have what they need to thrive. To take action in support of early learning, click here: https://bit.ly/1dQ8qQg.
