Make early learning a priority

I am writing in response to your Feb. 5 editorial, which states the challenge early learning advocates have showing the payoff on the investment in preschool. My son spent three years in the Head Start program, which receives its funding from the federal government. Had it not been for a disability that he has, we would have never had the opportunity for this program, which has not only more than prepared him for school, but has also changed the path of our family.

The services that he received in Logan Elementary CAPE Head Start class allowed him to be placed in a general education class with no extra staff to be paid for, and he is also at the top of his class. Proposed 5 percent cuts to federal programs would cut critically needed slots to children who, for a number of reasons, won’t be ready for kindergarten without this quality early learning.

Programs like Head Start, Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, and other high-quality learning preschools will make a lifetime of difference to those families fortunate enough to be able to access them. We need to make the availability of them a priority in funding.

Jen Ross

Spokane