High-quality preschool gives kids a strong, early start that prepares them for success in school and in life. Other states including New Jersey, Illinois, North Carolina and Oklahoma have made major commitments to preschool expansion for low-income children or all children in their state. It's time for California to follow their examples. 

From birth to age 5, a window of opportunity exists to dramatically shape a child’s brain architecture at a time when it is extremely receptive and malleable – laying the foundation for future learning.¹

• Early education develops skills such as paying attention, showing persistence in finishing tasks, accepting new responsibilities and making friends.
  
  
• It provides a language-rich environment that helps children develop early reading skills such as recognizing letters, consonant and vowel sounds.
  
  
• About 40 percent of California’s preschoolers are English learners  – high-quality pre-k gives them a solid foundation in language that helps promote school success.²
  

High-quality preschool is a proven investment in our children, our schools and our communities. It cultivates a skilled workforce that keeps our state competitive in the global economy.

• Students who start school behind tend to stay behind. High-quality pre-k helps close the school readiness gap before it becomes the achievement gap.³
  
  
• 95 percent of kindergarten teachers say children who attended preschool are better prepared for kindergarten.⁴
  
  
• Children who attend high-quality programs are more likely to perform better on standardized reading and math tests and to graduate from high school. They’re less likely to be placed in special education or held back a grade.⁵
  
  
• For every dollar, high-quality preschool provides a $7 to $16 return on investment by saving government spending on education, the criminal justice system and public assistance and increasing tax revenues.⁶
  

The children who could benefit most from high-quality preschool – Latinos, African Americans, English learners and those from low-income families – are the least likely to be in it.⁷

• Only 53 percent of low-income children attend preschool, while 80 percent of children whose families make more than $100,000 attend.⁸
  
  
• Even fewer are in high-quality preschools – 13 percent of low-income children are in programs that prepare them for success in school.⁹
  
  
• Three quarters of publicly funded preschools in California that responded to a survey have waiting lists.¹⁰
  

1 National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2008). The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to Shape Brain Architecture.
2 Gandara, P. & Rumberger, R. (2007). Resource Needs for California's English Learners. Stanford, CA: Institute for Research on Education Policy & Practice.
3 Karoly, L., et. al. (2007). Who Is Ahead and Who Is Behind? RAND Corporation. Read more about the RAND preschool studies.
4 Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc.  Findings of a Survey Conducted for Preschool California. 2005. Read Praise for Preschool: California's Teachers Say All Children Will Benefit.
5 Reynolds, A. (1995). One Year of Preschool Intervention or Two: Does it Matter? Early Childhood Research Quarterly 10. 
and Reynolds, A. et. al. (2001). Long-term Effects of an Early Childhood Intervention on Educational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest. Journal of the American Medical Association 285. and Schweinhart, L. et. al. (2005). Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40. Yipsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. Read Research Shows: The Benefits of High-Quality Preschool.
6 Schweinhart, L. et. al. (2005). Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40. Yipsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, p. 131 and Reynolds, A. et. al. (2002). Age 21 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24. Read Research Shows: The Benefits of High-Quality Preschool.
7 Karoly, L., et. al. (2008). Prepared to Learn: The Nature and Quality of Early Care and Education for Preschool-Age Children in California. RAND Corporation, 147-48. Read more about the RAND preschool studies.
8 Ibid, pages 24 and 45. Based on calculations by the author.
9 Ibid.
10 Fight Crime: Invest in Kinds California (2005). Public Safety Can't Wait: California's Preschool Shortage, A Missed Opportunity for Crime Prevention.