Early Childhood and Pre-K Education

Issue

How can the business community ensure that the future workforce will be prepared to receive a globally competitive education when entering kindergarten?

Policy

The Chamber supports recommendations that include closing the preparation gap. Minnesota urgently needs to develop a cost-effective path that prepares all kids to succeed in school beginning when they enter kindergarten.

Efficiency and Simplicity: Duplicative work should be eliminated.

• The Legislature should consider recommendations from the 2011 legislative auditor report on the effectiveness and duplication of the state’s early childhood programs. The Chamber supports recommendations that increase efficiency, reduce costs and capitalize federal revenue sources. For example, Minnesota Department of Human Services, Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Department of Education: Division of Early Learning are all agencies managing services for early childhood education. They should be consolidated into one office that serves the entire state. The single agency, The Minnesota Office for Early Learning, should be well publicized, easily accessible and an effective tool so parents, care providers and businesses can easily navigate it and find information about facilities in their neighborhood. This office would consolidate and streamline the work and services currently being provided by multiple agencies.

Quality Services: A quality rating system should be used throughout the state.

• The Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF) began a pilot project in July 2007 that rated early learning facilities. The Parent Aware Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) rated facilities on multiple quality factors. According to MELF, 83 percent of center-based programs and 90 percent of family child-care programs were able to improve their ratings after making quality improvements. The rating system has effectively provided an incentive for facilities to improve the quality of the services they provide to kids age 0-5. Therefore, providing a meaningful and accurate rating system is important for the consumers of early childhood services, - namely parents. The Chamber supports a quality rating system.
  
  
• These programs should include a strong family engagement component to facilitate early literacy development, should focus on academic preparation, and should be held accountable for their performance.

Cost and Return: There is a return on early childhood and pre-K investment, though how to fund this policy is still being developed.

• Cost: The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce supports the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF) structure that was proposed in 2011. This included providing scholarships for 3- and 4- year old children whose parents had earnings at or below 400 percent of the poverty guidelines.
  
  
• Return: Dollars invested in pre-K and early childhood programs yield exceptional public returns. Data from the Wilder Foundation shows that for every $1 we invest, there is a return on investment of $12. Other studies have estimated the return to be as high as $16.

Business Impact

The essential foundation for a child’s educational future begins prior to entering the kindergarten classroom. Educating every child is not only important to families, but it is also a key factor in building the kind of economy that makes Minnesota a great place to live. The Business Plan for Early and Pre-K Education proposes to do this by streamlining resources currently being used and implementing a quality rating system for providers.

Our state's demographer tells us that growth in our workforce is decelerating and will continue to do so until 2025. Thus, every child must be educated and prepared to contribute to the workforce. Minnesota has historically relied on a well-educated workforce to compete globally and will need to continue to do so into the future. In June 2010, Minnesota’s unemployment rate was 7.0 percent; the national rate was 9.7 percent. Continuing to have a highly educated workforce is vital for Minnesota’s future. We must identify the educational investments that yield the most significant return on investment. Research has proven that the most efficient investment is in pre-K and early childhood education.