EXCERPT FROM: MySA Opinion
By Kara Johnson
As the school bells ring for Texas children, our leaders should hear them as an alarm. Realities are changing rapidly in our schools, and we need to pay attention. Since the last U.S. census, Texas has experienced a tremendous population increase, growing by more than 3.9 million people.
Of this growth, a staggering portion is found in our early childhood population. In fact, Texas has the largest and fastest-growing early childhood population in the nation.
Economic demographics in Texas have also changed. The number of Texas children in poverty is greater than the population of Austin, and over the next five decades, these changes are estimated to become even more pronounced. Increasing numbers of Texas children are growing up in homes with multiple risk factors such as poverty, limited parental education and English as their second language.
Unfortunately, without proper interventions most of these children will start school well behind their middle-class peers. They will struggle adjusting to the classroom environment, and will drastically lag behind in academics and social and emotional development.
By third grade they will perform lower than average on reading and math assessments; some of them will be retained multiple times during their school careers; and too many of them will fail to graduate from high school. They will struggle to find employment at a living wage. A significant portion of the girls will become pregnant before they finish their teenage years, and many of the boys will spend time in prison before they are 21.
This is Texas' “achievement gap” and these are its realities. Fortunately, this achievement gap can close before it ever begins with high-quality early childhood education. High-quality early childhood education is an effective tool in battling our state's achievement gap. The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University agrees. In a study conducted in 2006, the school found that every dollar spent on pre-K returns $3.50 to Texas communities because students are more likely to graduate, go to college, stay out of jail, get higher-paying jobs and pay more taxes. Research shows that 85 percent of a child's brain is developed by age 5, so early exposure to learning is critical for success later. High-quality early childhood education programs ensure that children don't start school already behind their peers.