Numerous studies have come to the same conclusion: More brain growth and development occurs between infancy and age five than at any other time in a child’s life.

During these years, children learn to learn. They also develop the interactive, observational and social skills that will help them become the artists, scientists, caregivers and mathematicians of tomorrow. Children who don’t receive the attention, teaching and stimulation they need during their early years often spend the rest of their lives trying to catch up.

Parents are their children’s first teachers, and many need help learning to bring out the best in their children.

 

Too many children don’t enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Only half of the state’s kindergarteners enter school ready to learn. And 75% of children from low-income families are not ready for their first taste of school. Quality early learning makes economic sense. The Perry Preschool Study found that every dollar spent on early education saves eight taxpayer dollars in the future. 

Washington needs to prepare our youngest learners for the first steps on their journey to becoming tomorrow’s thinkers, citizens, workers and leaders.

Key next steps:

• Develop high-quality school readiness indicators.
• Strengthen regulatory oversight and implement a uniform rating system to evaluate the quality of childcare and early learning programs.
• Increase access to training opportunities for early education providers through college-based programs.