It is imperative that our shared definition of education includes voluntary access to full-day kindergarten, as well as full-day prekindergarten for children ages 3 and 4.

Research conclusively proves that children's access to high-quality early education is directly linked with their success in school. New brain research demonstrates the lightning speed of learning in the earliest years. In fact, between conception and the beginning of kindergarten, children most quickly acquire the sensory-motor, social-emotional and cognitive skills they need for learning. [2]

The evidence is overwhelming: prekindergarten equips children from all backgrounds with the skills they need to learn in school, yielding significant educational dividends well into the high school years and beyond. The Centers for Disease Control recently reviewed 17 such studies, and strongly recommended expansion of publicly funded early education programs for children ages 3 to 5 on the basis of the strong evidenceÓ of effectiveness in improving cognitive outcomes, including school readiness, grade retention and reduced need for special education services. [3]

Here in New York, an evaluation of the state's Experimental Prekindergarten program for low-income children found that participating children were 50% less likely to need special education services and 25% less likely to be held back by the end of the third gradeÑthan their peers who did not attend prekindergarten. [4]   Early evidence from the state's Universal Prekindergarten program demonstrates impacts on children's academic, social and motor skills. [5]   In demanding the program's restoration to the state's 2003 budget, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said, "Principals and teachers across the system tell me that they can immediately tell which children have been through a Universal Pre-K program and that they are far more prepared for formal instruction in the early grades."

Evidence from other early universal Pre-K programs indicates how much can be accomplished through adequate public investment in early education. In Georgia, which expanded its free prekindergarten program to all 4-year-olds in 1995, independent evaluators found that participating children gained significant ground in skills critical for school, including pre-math, letter and word recognition, vocabulary, and oral expression. Participation in the program enabled children from disadvantaged backgrounds to catch up with their more advantaged peers. [6]

Studies further demonstrate that high quality preschool provides a tremendous return on investments, in part because of the reduced need for remedial and special education services. In fact, research concludes, every dollar paid generates a four-dollar return to participating children, their families, and all taxpayers. [7]

Early education should be integrated with the later grades through development of a continuous curriculum spanning Pre-K through Grade 12. All prekindergarten programs, regardless of setting, should have access to in-service training, technical assistance, and mentoring to facilitate continuous professional development. The learning environments must be supplied with the materials and equipment essential to learning skill development. Transportation should be available for every child who needs it. In addition, early education programs should be linked with existing services that support the whole family, including social services, health and mental health supports. Teachers should receive training in how to identify children with special needs, and links with special education services should be strongly established.

Early education programs for 3 and 4-year-olds are not optional enrichment programs. They are the foundation tier of learning, through which children gain the essential cognitive, sensory-motor coordination and social-emotional skills without which learning cannot take place.