CONTINUED ROLLOUT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION SYSTEMS

Access to quality early childhood education should be available to parents of all Iowa children. Scientific research strongly suggests that children who begin school with cognitive abilities and skill sets that lat behind their peers are never fully able to close the gap regardless of the depth and degree of remedial efforts. Striking disparities in what children know and can do is evident well before kindergarten. Differences are strongly associated with social and economic circumstances and predictive of subsequent academic performance. The availability of high quality early childhood education for all children results in long-term positive outcomes and cost savings by virtue of improved school performance, lower dropout rates, and increased lifelong earning potential.