Quality early learning matters

The College Completion Agenda 2010 Progress Report states that the United States now ranks 12th, dropping from No. 1, out of the 36 developed nations of the world in terms of college completion.

Their number-one recommendation to begin to remedy this is to “provide a program of voluntary preschool education, universally available to children from low-income families such that all children at or below 200 percent of the official poverty line have a chance to enter school ready to learn.”

The Society for Human Resource Management recently reminded us “today’s infants and toddlers are tomorrow’s business leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, health care workers, and other professionals.” They call for high-quality early learning as a way to help ensure that we build the workforce we need to keep America competitive.

If we are to avoid the continuing decline in our democracy, we need increased attention to, and investment in, quality early learning.

Jim Caccamo of Kansas City is the director of the Department of Early Learning at the Mid-America Regional Council.

Posted on Sun, Aug. 22, 2010 10:15 PM
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/22/2167006/quality-early-learning-matters.html