Thrive by Five sets kids up for success

A s a banker, I’ve made it my life’s work to recognize and support good investments. The more I’m engaged in efforts to prepare children for kindergarten, the more I’m convinced there is no better investment we can make in our state’s future.

This week, Gov. Chris Gregoire joined top business and philanthropic leaders and lawmakers to publicly launch Thrive by Five: The Washington Early Learning Fund, a historic $9 million statewide public-private partnership designed to prepare all Washington children for success in school – and life.

Spokane has helped to lead the way through a public-private partnership of its own that rewards and encourages improvements in quality child care. Thrive by Five Washington will give our children access to high-quality child care and preschool, and equip parents and caregivers with the latest information on healthy child development. Parents, after all, are their children’s first teachers.

Several other states have already adopted this kind of comprehensive approach to early learning. It’s easy to see why. Writing in the June issue of Science Magazine, Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman explains that investing in disadvantaged young children yields high economic returns, promoting productivity in the economy and in society at large. And in April, Rob Grunewald, a research economist with the Federal Reserve Bank, was in Spokane to present results of his research that show investment in early childhood development provides the highest public return on investment for economic development that a community can make.

We will benefit from a stronger community, greater economic productivity, responsible citizenship and the assurance that every child will be given an equal and fair chance to achieve the American Dream.

Children who start off ready for kindergarten are more likely to graduate from high school and go to college. They are less likely to be in prison or on public assistance, and more likely to have jobs. Any state that cares about its economic and civic health must consider how well it prepares its future workers, voters and leaders.

Research shows children need basic cognitive and social skills to succeed in school. These include recognizing some letters and shapes, counting to 20, following directions and getting along in a group. Children start to develop these skills at birth, through positive, nurturing relationships with their parents or other caregivers, lots of verbal interaction and age-appropriate learning opportunities.

Unfortunately, a recent survey found about 50 percent of Washington children start kindergarten unprepared. A staggering 75 percent of low-income children begin school already behind. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that most never catch up.

Our choice is clear: We can either make sure children are ready for kindergarten, or we can spend vast sums over the course of their lifetimes dealing with the negative consequences. For every $1 we invest today on quality child care and preschool, we’ll save between $4 and $8 down the road in lowered costs for crime, health care and public assistance. That’s a sound return on investment.

Thrive by Five Washington is a bold response to a challenge that touches every one of us. There’s a terrible shortage of high-quality early learning opportunities – particularly in our low-income communities. Here in Spokane County, nearly one-third of children under age 5 live below the federal poverty level, and there are simply not enough affordable quality child-care centers or preschools to serve them.

To make matters worse, we don’t have a reliable method of rating child-care centers or preschools or providing incentives for improvement.

When I first moved to Spokane, I was stunned by the challenges facing our community. Today I am awed by the vision, commitment and generosity of people across our state. Thrive by Five is a bipartisan effort co-chaired by Gov. Gregoire and Bill Gates Sr. and run by a diverse coalition of leaders in the government, nonprofit and business sectors. Founding partners in the effort include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Bezos Family Foundation, the Talaris Institute and The Boeing Company. Funding for the effort is expected to grow every year.

This is a defining moment for the state of Washington – a step closer to the day when all of our children enter kindergarten with the building blocks they need to thrive.