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My daughter turns four in January. That means that more than 80% of her brain development has already occurred. It is a staggering thought as a parent. What's troubling to me as a state legislator is that the experiences of children vary greatly during these formative years. For example, researchers have found that four-year-olds in poor families have heard 32 million fewer words than those whose parents are professionals!
When children start school behind their peers, they usually stay there. Eighty-eight percent of children who are poor readers in first grade will still be poor readers in fourth grade. Seventy-four percent of children who are poor readers in third grade will still be poor readers when they start high school, running the risk of dropping out and facing few job opportunities.
Fortunately, smart state policies can ensure that more children start school ready to learn and succeed. I've recently launched a grassroots campaign on my website, www.leaderslisten.org, to support these efforts.
This year the legislature took an important step in addressing the earliest stages of development of the most at-risk children by supporting the nurse-family partnership. Under this program nurses visit at-risk first-time mothers during their pregnancy and the first two years of their children's lives. In other states they've had tremendous success educating mothers about how to care for their children, resulting in improved school readiness, less child abuse, and many other benefits.
We also made progress in expanding four-year-olds' access to free public pre-kindergarten, adding former foster children to the list of eligible children.
These early care and education programs are a great investment. Researchers at Texas A&M have found that every dollar invested in high-quality pre-k returns $3.50 to Texas communities. The benefit comes from increased cognitive and social development, fewer special education referrals, reduced involvement in criminal activities, increased income and lifetime earnings for mothers, and improved work performance. But many eligible children -- including non-English speakers, children of military families, and children of low-income parents -- don't enroll.
It's time for the state to get serious about pre-k. It can start by improving outreach to inform these parents about pre-k. That's why I'm asking my colleagues in the state legislature to sign my letter urging our new Education Commissioner to make early education a high priority and take concrete steps to improve outreach.
Please join this effort by visiting my online action center at www.leaderslisten.org.
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