2. Early childhood education provides
crucial stimulation and guidance
during the time in which a child’s
brain is forming faster than any other
period of life. ECE works to challenge,
stimulate and nurture the formative
early years to give children every
chance for healthy development.
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3. Did you know? Starting at birth a
baby’s brain develops rapidly,
producing more than one million
neural connections each second.
A baby is influenced by loving
relationships, positive experiences,
and a calm environment.
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4. Why is early childhood education
important? Kindergarten marks the
start of a child's formal education. A
child's first school experiences can
influence the way he or she relates to
others for the rest of life. Success or
failure at this stage can affect a child's
well-being and self-esteem.
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5. ECE lays the foundation for a lifetime
of learning and can have a cascading,
positive influence throughout a child’s
lifetime. It helps prepare children
to reach the appropriate academic
level by third grade. Students who fall
behind by third grade are more likely
to drop out before graduation.
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6. From infancy to kindergarten,
children undergo an unimaginable
amount of development. By the time
they’ve walked through the doors of
kindergarten, their brain has
developed 90 percent of its capacity.
And early childhood education is a
significant contributor to that.
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7. Resources invested in childhood
development and education vary
enormously across income classes.
Gaps in resource investment lead to
gaps in school readiness that persist
over students’ lifetimes. These gaps
can then translate into large divides
in later life success.
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8. ECE can be especially beneficial for
children from low-income families.
ECE can be particularly powerful for
child development, helping to even
the playing field and ensure all
children have the chance to build the
skills they need to succeed in school
and life.
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9. What is Early Head Start? Early Head
Start is designed to provide high-
quality child and family development
services to low-income pregnant
women and families with infants and
toddlers.
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10. Early Head Start was created by
Congress in 1994 in response to the
understanding that programs that
enroll families during pregnancy, or in
children’s formative early years, have
the greatest potential to make a
lifelong impact on children’s
development.
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11. What to Know About Early Childhood
Home Visiting: Early childhood home
visiting is a type of family support
targeted to expectant parents and
parents of children birth to age 5.
Trained home visitors provide
services and support for parents and
their children in their homes.
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12. Evidence shows that home visiting
programs benefit children and
families. These models have shown
positive impacts on children in the
long term, via increased school
readiness, reduced child
maltreatment, and reduced lifetime
arrests and convictions.
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13. Child Care and Development Block
Grant: Where Are We Now? In March
2018, the Child Care and
Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
received the largest increase in its
history—$2.37 billion for Fiscal Year
2018!
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14. Early childhood education goes far
beyond finger painting and story
time. This critical component of
childhood sets the stage for an entire
lifetime, and early childhood
educators lay the foundation for
young minds to grow and thrive.
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15. Today's system of early education
and childcare has become wholly
insufficient to address the realities of
family economics. Child care
affordability is not just a problem for
low-income families, and policy
should adapt to these widespread
challenges.
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16. It’s time for an ambitious national
investment in America’s children.
Investments in early childhood care
and education would have enormous
benefits for children, families, society,
and the economy. If you agree,
contact your legislators today and ask
for their support!
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