The Urban Child Institute

Facts are often a scarce commodity and "conventional wisdom" is regularly based on anecdotes, opinions and emotion.

It's a fundamental principle of business -- and life -- that the best action is the one taken when it delivers the best result. That's not what we're doing when it comes to investing in educating the children of our community.

Every year, Memphis and Shelby County spend about $1.6 billion on public education. Virtually, none of it is spent during the first three years of children's lives, when their brains are wired to learn and are growing to 80 percent of their adult size.

In other words, at the time that we can have the greatest positive impact -- while 80 percent of the core brain structure is being formed by a child's third birthday -- we devote less than 2.5 percent of public educational funding on these young children. Research shows that children who enter school behind in their brain development have steep hills to climb, and most are unable to reach the top.

The smartest investment with the greatest economic impact is made in the earliest years. The research is unequivocal and is supported by Nobel Prize winner James Heckman's model, which demonstrates that high-quality early childhood programs produce a higher per-dollar return than K-12 schooling and later job training.

Early childhood programs reduce the need for special education and remediation.

The cost-benefit equation is clear: Children who attended state-funded prekindergarten classes in Tennessee gained an average of 82 percent more on early literacy and math skills than comparable children who did not attend. And yet in 2010, only about 500 of the 21,500 children 3 years and under in Shelby County eligible for Early Head Start services were served, because there isn't enough money to fully fund the program.

As Heckman said: "Early experiences can translate into school readiness, academic success, and lifetime well-being. Success builds upon success. When more children in a community are ready to learn, communitywide levels of human and social capital rise."

It's one time when science and conventional wisdom converge. We all know that the best investments are made when they have the highest return. For Memphis, those are investments in children younger than 3 years old.

Eugene K. Cashman Jr. is president and CEO of The Urban Child Institute.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/jun/19/guest-column-spend-early-and-often-in-first-3-of/