To assure kids are ready for school, California must invest in pre-kindergarten programs with well-trained, fairly compensated teachers. Teachers with the skills to create lively, enriching classrooms put kids on track for lifelong success.

• It requires special skills and training to teach young children, particularly in a state as linguistically and economically diverse as California. 
  
  
• High-quality preschool programs offer a learning environment with developmentally appropriate curricula and clearly defined goals and outcomes that help prepare children for success in K-12.

• The children who lack access to preschool are disproportionately children of color, children whose home language is not English, and children whose parents did not graduate from high school. In short, they are those who would benefit from it most.  Read the Advancement Project’s report, California’s Preschool Space Challenge.
  
  
• When kids start school ready to learn, California’s K-12 schools benefit. Education reform begins with effective pre-kindergarten programs.

For more on how effective pre-k is a proven investment in school success, visit our Reports and Studies page.