Such is the urgency, and so great the potential rewards, that the House and Senate will convene Minnesota's first Early Childhood Summit later this month.
Investing in our youngest learners has long proven to be one of the best, most cost-effective ways to improve education for all students, reducing the need for costly special education and remediation in later school years. A recent Wilder Foundation study was able to demonstrate quantifiable returns through cost savings realized by school districts and social-service agencies and through higher tax revenues for the state from educated workers better able to secure good jobs when they enter the workforce.
Investments in early childhood education also create and keep jobs in this field, particularly important now that job losses are at their highest levels in decades. According to one study, the licensed child-care sector allows American earnings of nearly $100 billion each year.
And a thriving early childhood education field allows families who depend on child care to work, further adding to a vibrant workforce.
In recent years, early childhood education in Minnesota has experienced an unprecedented convergence of interest from nonprofit, business and public sectors, as well as the seeds of communitywide grass-roots support. In 2008, the Legislature established the goal of having all Minnesota children school-ready by 2020. On the federal level, President-elect Barack Obama has already signaled that early childhood education will factor significantly in his economic stimulus plans. I am hopeful that this extraordinary occasion will fuel momentum that leads to significant legislation this year, along with a dynamic state and federal partnership that will benefit our state for years to come.
It is not an overstatement to say our state's very future rests on our commitment to high-quality early education, a commitment we must stand firmly behind. A sustained commitment to Minnesotan's youngest learners will create a competitive labor force, a vibrant economy and a world-class education system that ensures that every child can reach his or her full potential in the 21st-century marketplace.
Nora Slawik, DFL-Maplewood, chairs the Early Childhood Learning Finance Division in the Minnesota House.
