Start Early. Start well.

evidence

More than 150 high-quality, scientific studies from all over the  world demonstrate that starting early can have major short- and long-term effects on cognitive and social-emotional development. Early learning has been linked to progress in school, increased earnings, and reductions in anti-social behavior, welfare participation, and trouble with the law.
 

Brain science

During the early years, more than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second. Neural connections are formed through the interaction of genes and a baby’s environment and experiences. These are the connections that build brain architecture – the foundation upon which all later learning, behavior, and health depend.  

Smart Investment

Money spent on high-quality early care and education is an investment. One dollar spent on high-quality early care and education yields an average return of $4 over time. In circumstances where children are extremely vulnerable, the return can be as high as $13.

SCHOOL AND LIFE SUCCESS

Cognitive and non-cognitive abilities—including key workforce skills such as motivation, persistence, self-regulation, and self-control—are important for a productive workforce, and deficits that emerge early are difficult to change.

At-risk children who DO NOT receive a high-quality early childhood education are:

25% more likely  to drop out of school.

40% more likely  to become a teen parent.

50% more likely  to be placed in special education.

60% more likely  to never attend college.

70% more likely  to be arrested for a violent crime.

Social-Emotional Development

Relationships with responsive, consistent primary caregivers help build positive attachments that support healthy social-emotional development. These relationships form the foundation of mental health for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. 

Language / Literacy

The number of words and the breadth of vocabulary heard by a child during the early years of life is a key component for school preparation and can dramatically affect language development and IQ. By age 4, a child from a professional family will have heard approximately 30 million more words than a child from a low-income family. The gap grows as the years progress.

Start Early. Start Well.

It’s more efficient, both biologically and economically, to get things right the first time than to try to fix them later. We’ve learned that brains, skills, and health are built over time, but starting early is what counts. Neuroscientists tell us that the window of opportunity for development remains open for many years, but the costs of remediation grow with age. 

citations

Learn more about the underlying research
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