Maine currently has two promising opportunities to invest in the future of our state by bringing high quality early education to our youngest learners.
One possibility is Governor Janet Mills’ proposal to invest $ 10 million in grants to expand public pre-kindergarten programs, with a focus on partnerships between schools and community providers, and an additional $ 10 million for renovation and construction further childcare facilities with federal COVID-19 aid fund.
The second is the Biden government’s American Families Plan, which is helping fund states to provide preschool for all 3- and 4-year-old children. Together, these plans will improve access, strengthen program quality, and ultimately address critical economic challenges in Maine. Because of the positive, long-term impact on our state’s economy and workforce, Educate Maine and ReadyNation are supporting increased public investment in pre-kindergarten and childcare programs.
Decades of research shows that children who attend high quality early education programs achieve better student outcomes throughout their school years. They are more likely to graduate from high school, pursue a post-secondary degree or qualification, and achieve success in the workplace. Investing in early education is key to a strong economy.
Quality early education empowers communities, people, families, businesses, leaders, and workers. It all starts with early learning – a critical phase where children build the foundation and skills that will determine the path to their future success in school and life. This is especially true for economically disadvantaged and vulnerable children.
For all of these reasons, Maine is currently committed to offering public pre-kindergarten to all 4-year-olds who wish to attend. Both the governor’s proposal and the White House American Families Plan will help Maine achieve this goal by developing a voluntary, blended, state pre-kindergarten system that ensures equal access to quality programs that highlight parenting choices and options Existing successful incorporates options such as Head Start and established state and municipal or denominational pre-kindergarten programs and prioritizes the enrollment of children from low to middle income families.
Pre-kindergarten access is also important to meet Maine childcare needs so parents can keep working, especially during this time when COVID-19 has exacerbated Maine labor shortages. We must be careful in expanding pre-kindergarten and childcare and doing this vital work in such a way that the financial realities of our childcare system are taken into account and balanced investments are made in both programs.
Beyond the financial realities of early childhood programs, pre-kindergarten and childcare must be considered together, as both are crucial instruments for healthy school and social-emotional development of children. In the further course of the legislative proposals it will be important for the legislature to give priority to considerations about the choice of parents and a system of mixed delivery. We also need to think deeply about our entire early childhood system to ensure that various programs work together to provide families with the options and continuum of programs that best suit their needs.
The Gov. Mills and the Biden Administration proposed investments in advance of kindergarten will have a greater combined effect than can be seen on the surface. These investments will ease the increasing strain on Maine’s childcare system, support parents and guardians in today’s workforce, and create the solid ECEC foundation that every child deserves, helping to ensure a larger and stronger future workforce.
These investments will help meet Maine’s key human resources and education goals, including the Mills government’s strategic plan to increase the Maine workforce by 75,000 by 2029 and the MaineSpark Coalition’s goal of adulthood Ensuring Workers With Post Secondary Value In Maine Demand Hits 60% By 2025.
A high quality pre-kindergarten really creates the conditions for children to be successful throughout their lives. The children in front of today’s kindergarten are the elementary, middle and high school students of tomorrow, college and business school graduates, and ultimately parents, guardians, community and business leaders, employees and entrepreneurs. We all have a interest in making sure every child in Maine has a strong start.
Together, the Mills and Biden governments’ strategic plans encourage increased federal investment in pre-kindergarten and childcare and will help our state achieve its long-term economic goals. These plans will help Maine continue to build a stronger education system and ensure a resilient workforce, wealthier people, vibrant communities, and a thriving economy and future for Maine.
Jason Judd is the executive director of Educate Maine and a member of ReadyNation.
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