Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/creating-political-will-reframing-our-position-on-the-value-of-ece/5022508/
Most Early Childhood Education professionals can’t understand why the rest of the country is not passionately supportive of our work. We each know the value of our service — to the children we work with, their families, the economy, and society. It seems so obvious! Children who experience a nurturing, rich, and stimulating early childhood experience have a much better chance of realizing a healthy productive life. It takes a village to raise a child and early childhood programs known for their excellence become the extended family providing the traditional support that is known to ensure healthy development. And families who have reliable, high-quality early childhood services for their children can work — AND their work is better. These families work more productively, have better attendance, and even steal less from their employers! Parents who are students, in either high school or college, do better academically and graduate in a more timely fashion when they have high-quality early childhood services for their young children. Society is better off for the high-quality programs available. Over the years several longitudinal studies have been published that demonstrate the long-term benefits — the return on investment — of high-quality early childhood programs. Young children who ...