Make early education a part of school reform

GEEARS is the successor to the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta’s Early Education Commission, co-chaired by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta CEO Dennis Lockhart and Spelman College President Beverly Tatum. After nearly two years of study, the commission has issued recommendations with the ultimate goal of making Georgia a national leader in educating children effectively during their earliest years.

Neuroscience research has shown that the most vigorous brain growth occurs between ages 1 and 4. For children to have the highest potential for successful learning, it is critical that they be exposed during those first years to a stimulating environment, including enriching interactions with parents and caregivers. Children who do not have such exposure are less likely to succeed in school and beyond.

Many of our children are fortunate enough to have a loving stay-at-home parent. However, even these parents should be knowledgeable about child development and engaged in providing quality interactions that will give his or her child the social, emotional and academic tools needed to start school ready to learn.

But for most working families in Georgia, the reality is that 65 percent of our infants to preschoolers are in care outside the home. We have an obligation to ensure that all of Georgia’s children are getting the quality care that will give them a fair start.

A recent study by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, commissioned by Bright from the Start, Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning, found that, on average, nonlottery-funded, center-based care across Georgia is of low to medium quality. This disparity means a large portion of Georgia’s children will not enter school ready to succeed.

Increased school readiness benefits our children, of course, but also our schools and society. Academic achievement is enhanced, work force quality is raised and costly educational remediation is reduced. Georgia spends an estimated $75 million annually on remediation for high school graduates who lack basic skills for entering community colleges.

Research also has shown that quality early learning prevents future costly mistakes, such as teen pregnancy, failure to graduate, welfare dependency, crime and other societal problems.

Children who enter school behind often never catch up, and the inability to read by third grade has been linked to both high school drop-out and future incarceration rates.

Over the long term, we can help lower prison populations and related costs by improving our education system, starting in the birth-to-4 age space.

Economists have shown that investments in early learning have better rates of return than more traditional economic development projects.

For every dollar invested, we can realize as high as a 15 to 17 percent rate of return. Offering more high-quality early education will also expand Georgia’s talent pool and elevate our state’s potential for attracting new businesses.

Fortunately, Georgia is not starting from zero. Overseen by Bright from the Start, Georgia’s lottery-funded pre-k program for 4-year-olds has been a national leader in state-funded early learning for many years. In 2009, Georgia was ranked among the top 10 states for access and standards by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

However, the program serves only about half the state’s 4-year-olds. This is why continued lottery funding for Georgia pre-k is so critical.

All our children deserve a good start in life, one that will allow them to reach their fullest potential and become productive citizens of our state. And as committed as the GEEARS is to striving toward this goal, it won’t happen without the help of every parent, teacher, caregiver, businessperson and public servant in Georgia.

We must make our youngest citizens the priority they deserve to be. We can begin by urging our state lawmakers to preserve lottery funds for pre-k education as well as encourage both state and federal lawmakers to include pre-k, and other early learning opportunities, as they look to reshape educational policy.

Stephanie Blank is chair of the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students.