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It’s a good sign that attention to early childhood development and education is on the rise. President Obama highlighted this issue as a national priority during his State of the Union address.
Across the country we are seeing voter-based efforts such as in San Antonio, where voters passed a one-eighth percent sales tax for early childhood education. Most efforts cite research by Nobel Prize winning economist James Heckman which demonstrates that investments in high quality early learning for children 0-5 years old earns a 7 percent to 10 percent annual return on investment.
Historically, investments in education have focused on K-12. It’s time for a paradigm shift. Brain science shows that a child’s brain develops fastest in the first three years of life and is 90 percent formed by age six. By investing in these early years we can improve educational outcomes for all children. In New Mexico, we have the opportunity to make this shift.
Currently, the Legislature is deliberating on Senate Joint Resolution 3 and House Joint Resolution 13. These proposals have the potential to create significant and permanent investments in early childhood education by allowing New Mexicans to vote on a constitutional amendment to invest 1 percent from the earnings of the $11.5 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund.
For decades, voters have been deciding about investing public funds for early childhood education. The recent victory in San Antonio, under the leadership of Mayor Julian Castro, builds on initiatives that started as early as 1948 in Florida and 2006 in Nebraska.
Nebraska voters changed their state constitutional definition of “general education” in 2006 to include early childhood education — creating a $40 million dollar endowment from their educational land and trust funds. This year their legislature is considering a significant expansion.
In 2002, Miami-Dade County followed the lead of seven other counties in Florida, where voters overwhelmingly approved a proposal to increase their own property taxes in order to create the Children’s Trust, which invests over $100 million each year in high quality, comprehensive child and family services.
The Florida investments have yielded exceptional results ranging from improved parenting skills, increased parental involvement in schools and more children reaching developmental milestones. Furthermore, Florida schools have seen improved reading fluency, a reduction in disruptive behavior and an increase in high school graduation rates and college enrollment.
Across the country third-grade reading levels are used as points of reference for a child’s academic future. The evidence is glaring. We cannot wait to intervene until our children reach the third grade. If we wait, too many of our children will never achieve their full potential.
The question remains, will New Mexico legislators act now, or will they delay until it’s too late? We know the path that communities across the country have chosen — they’ve decided to invest in our future often and early. Will we?
