By
Karen Nolan/ KNolan@TheReporter.com/Posted:
05/25/2012 01:03:43 AM PDT
An advocate for high-quality, early childhood education on
Thursday urged the Solano business community to speak out against state cuts to
programs that benefit the youngest Californians.
"Your voice is tremendously important. You know what
this means for your future workforce," Catherine Atkin, president of
Preschool California, told attendees of the Solano Economic Development Corp.
breakfast meeting.
Research focusing on what it takes to succeed in high
school, career and college has consistently found that being an engaged learner
in third-grade "is critical for future success," said Atkin.
To reach that third-grade target, "kids need to be born
healthy, thriving at age 3, successful in preschool and ready for kindergarten
at 5," she said, adding that too many California children don't meet those
milestones.
"As early as 9 months, low-income children are already
lagging in language acquisition," Atkin said. "Low-income children
have heard 30 million fewer words by age 3 -- that's less than half the number
heard by higher income kids. By kindergarten, they are a year behind their
peers."
Those shortcomings can be seen in later test scores, where
California students rank near the bottom in math and language arts, she said.
Such deficits can be overcome, she assured, citing access to
high-quality preschool and two-year, transitional kindergarten classes for
young 5-year-olds as among the programs shown to be effective. Waiting until
high school to intervene is too late.
"The best return on investment is in the first five
years," said Atkin, putting it in business terms. "The later you
invest, the less the return."
As state officials attempt to balance California's budget, a
half-billion dollars worth of cuts have been proposed to child development
programs, she said.
"We are only 3 percent of the budget, but we are 20
percent of the cuts," Atkin said. "We need the business community to
raise their voice. ... We will reap what we sow in the early years."
Follow Staff Writer Karen Nolan at Twitter.com/VacaNolan.
