Prioritizing Early Childhood Education: We Can't Afford to Wait

Posted on 06/22/2011 @ 02:27 PM

In yesterday's Huffington Post, Susan Ochshorn, Founder of ECE PolicyWorks, explained why we can't afford to wait to invest in early childhood education. She gives three top reasons to make early childhood education a priority:

1. Nearly all brain development occurs in the first five years of life, and high-quality early care and education creates the architecture of the brain, building a child's capacity to learn and grow, and establishing a foundation for later academic achievement and life success. 

2. School readiness is at an all-time low. Studies show that at least half of the educational achievement gap between poor children and their more advantaged peers is evident in the kindergarten classroom.

3. Public investments in early childhood education pay off big-time, with every dollar spent yielding increased tax revenues and reduced spending on child welfare, special education and grade retention.

Yet, despite all we know about the benefits of high-quality early education, we are still not funding it properly. Ochshorn ends by reminding us that learning begins at birth, and we need to take advantage of this prime opportunity to change the lives of our nation's children.

Read her article here, and tell us what you think.