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The following op-ed by Eos Foundation President Andrea Silbert appeared in the Boston Business Journal on July 4, 2008.

Early Education: An Investment in Massachusetts’ Workforce

By Andrea Silbert | July 4, 2008

Ensuring that Massachusetts develops and retains a skilled, educated workforce is a concern for every business leader in the Commonwealth. The recently-released recommendations of Governor Deval Patrick and his Job Readiness Task Force provide a reform-oriented vision for education in the 21st century that will help meet this need. With a strong emphasis on early education, the plan strategically focuses resources where they will generate the greatest return on investment for taxpayers, providing the double benefit of training tomorrow’s leaders while helping meet the needs of today’s parents.

The plan calls for universal, high-quality pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten, beginning in high-needs districts. It also will create a Task Force to establish a statewide birth-to-school age strategy to ensure the healthy development of children, particularly those from low-income families, and will establish a Commonwealth Child and Youth Readiness Cabinet, an inter-governmental agency cabinet responsible for developing and implementing a shared vision to advance the health and well-being of all children and youth.

These steps are crucial because by the age of five, 85% of the brain is developed, setting the foundation for all future learning, behavior and health. At age three, children from high-income families have vocabularies averaging 1100 words, while middle-income kids have 750 words and low-income children only 480.  Unfortunately, these disparities often linger and increase over time. One study finds that half of the “achievement gap” between high and low-income students in the 12th grade can be attributed to disparities going back as early as first grade.

This gap has a real impact on Massachusetts’ economy, with 20,000 jobs unfilled because of a lack of qualified applicants, and each high school dropout costing our state $275,000 over their lifetime. But early education provides an important solution. Research indicates that low-income children who participate in high-quality early childhood education are 40% less likely to need special education services or be held back a grade, 30% more likely to graduate from high school, and twice as likely to go to college. That helps all Commonwealth taxpayers, because for every dollar spent on high-quality early education, studies have shown a cost savings of up to $7.

Governor Patrick’s bold and innovative plan recognizes the importance of starting at birth and getting kids ready to succeed in school. It’s clear that access to high-quality early education will greatly benefit our children, workforce and economy—and that’s a message that should resonate with every business leader who cares about our Commonwealth’s future.

Andrea Silbert is President of the Eos Foundation and served on the Leadership Council of Governor Patrick’s Job Readiness Task force, as well as the Early Education and Care subcommittee.

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