As part of the new budget being drafted now, we urge Massachusetts lawmakers to dramatically expand access to high-quality early education.
Every child deserves a chance to succeed, but tens of thousands of Massachusetts’ kids are on waiting lists for preschool. We can do better.
Why is this important?
The research says that opportunity starts young. If you want to help students do better, you have to reach kids 5-years-old and younger.
More than 40% of 3 to 4 year-olds, some 60,000 kids across Massachusetts, aren’t in an early education program. Meanwhile, 30,000 children are on waiting lists for preschool slots. That's not only wrong; it's short-sighted because we know that for every $1 we spend on early education, we save $7 over time.
As legislators draft the budget for the next year, it's our chance to make early education a priority. If we want to expand access to preschool, we need to raise our voices now.
We'll be meeting with lawmakers on Feb. 4, and every signature we collect makes our case more powerful.
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