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

Susan Ochshorn

Children's brains grow at a dazzling pace in the first years of life. High-quality early care and education actually 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.

A growing number of children in the United States are not ready for school. 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.

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.

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