Education in state must begin earlier
The Republican, Letter to the Editor by Sally Fuller, July 13, 2008

As a member of Gov. Deval L. Patrick's Readiness Project Subcommittee on Early Education and Care, we were charged with finding ways to better serve the nearly half-million children under age six in the commonwealth - including over 14,000 in Springfield alone.

Studies have shown that by age five, 85 percent of who you are - your intellect, your personality, your social skills - is developed. It is imperative that we invest in helping young children develop the skills they need to succeed in school and in life.

Patrick's bold education reform plan calls for eventual full funding of both universally-accessible, high-quality pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten in high-needs districts. The governor will immediately create a task force to establish a statewide birth-to-school age strategy to ensure the healthy development of children, particularly those from low-income families, and will establish a Commonwealth Child and Youth Readiness Cabinet, an inter-governmental agency cabinet responsible for advancing the health and well-being of all children and youth.

In a world of limited resources, high-quality early education has proven to be one of the most effective investments we can make: Low-income children who participate are 40 percent less likely to need special education services or be held back a grade, 30 percent more likely to graduate from high school, and twice as likely to go to college. By making high-quality early education a cornerstone of education reform, as the governor declared, "today is a new day" and the future will be brighter for our young children, families, communities, and economy.

SALLY C. FULLER