Letters

Providing early education with a focus on literacy and wellness, from birth to kindergarten, will make a difference for us all.

Making a difference means getting involved. It means becoming informed and advocating for the funding necessary to truly elevate quality early childhood education and child care to the level of essential for all young children.

Nothing has shown the need for quality programs more than the pandemic: It has redefined child care as an essential service but sorely lacking, to the extent of becoming a major obstacle to our economic recovery.

Literacy is the cornerstone for building a strong learning foundation for our youngest children, their families, our communities, our society, and the future of our country. Yet only 40 percent of 3-year-olds in America are enrolled in some form of early educational programs, even though these programs have been shown to provide the highest return and impact on successful learning.

Most educators agree that beginning at birth, children’s social, emotional and literacy development significantly influences future learning. These early years are when children develop the skills, habits and traits needed to become successful learners. By age 5, 90 percent of brain capacity has already developed.

The richer the literacy experiences children have in their early years, the greater the impact is on their developmental growth and their potential for learning. Unfortunately, not all families of our youngest children have equitable opportunities for rich literacy experiences and/or for quality, affordable child care.

This issue of “ability to pay” speaks to the increasing gaps in educational achievement between children of high-income and low-income families. Narrowing this income and achievement gap for our youngest children is critical.

Consider the costs of not accelerating literacy achievement during the early years of development. Consider the widening gap between high- and low-income student achievement. Consider the countless millions of dollars now being spent on literacy interventions (reading), special education and poor educational attendance.

The research is clear, educating young children requires the same levels of expertise, knowledge and competencies that are provided by most K-12 educational programs, both private and public. Why, then, do early childhood/child care programs experience less than equitable compensation, educational support and public funding?

Ron Edmonds, an early leader of the “Effective Schools” movement, advocated that we know enough to successfully teach all children — yet the underlying issue is: Do we have the will? Do we have the will to fully invest (both financially and educationally) in our youngest learners? Are we willing to advocate for the needed changes?

If so, the payoff for investing in early childhood literacy and child care can reap huge dividends for children, their families and society at large.

Tim Frazier

Executive Director

Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center

East Hampton

Mr. Frazier is the former principal of Southampton Intermediate School — Ed.