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Building the Economic Case for Investments in Preschool
Resource Center
Convened by the Committee for Economic Development,
The Pew Charitable Trusts and PNC Financial Services Group
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
The Grand Hyatt Hotel
Park Avenue at Grand Central Terminal
New York, NY 10017
Media Contact:
Morgan Broman
202-296-5860
morgan.broman@ced.org
Page Contents
» 2006 Conference: Building the Economic Case for Investments in Preschool
» 2006 Media Coverage of Early Childhood Efforts
» CED's 2002 Report — Preschool for All: Investing in a Productive and Just Society
» Early Education Working Papers
» 2004 Washington, D.C. Conference Materials
» Early Education Links
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2006 Conference — Building
the Economic Case for Investments in Preschool
Video Highlights Now Available
2006 Conference Summary
On January 10, 2006 at the New York Grand Hyatt Hotel, CED, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and PNC Financial Services, Inc. sponsored an all-day forum, Building the Economic Case for Investments in Preschool. Over 200 business leaders and education experts came together to discuss progress in local, state, and national efforts to establish universal, quality pre-kindergarten for all American children. Research shows that high-quality preschool offers long-term economic payoffs and near-term savings. The results of a new poll of business leaders by Zogby International on early education issues were released at the conference. The poll found that American business leaders overwhelmingly back public funding for pre-kindergarten for all children to keep the U.S. economy globally competitive.
The New York conference
featured many of the top early childhood experts in the world,
including: James J. Heckman, Nobel Prize-winning
economist; James E. Rohr, Chairman and CEO,
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.; Rebecca W.
Rimel, President and CEO, The Pew Charitable Trusts;
Sandra Pianalto, President and CEO, Federal
Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Beverley Hughes
[transcript],
Minister of State (Children, Young People and Families) for
Great Britain; Philip Murphy, Senior Director,
The Goldman Sachs Group; Rob Dugger, Managing
Director, Tudor Investments, Inc.; and Doug Price,
Managing Director, Benjamin Douglas Companies.
The conference attendees represented 26 states and the District of
Columbia. Also in attendance was a delegation of 24 coming from the
United Kingdom. Of the 230 participants, well over 100 were business
representatives. The majority of the other attendees are representing
foundations, universities and think tanks. To carry forth the momentum
from the conference, CED will be mailing out follow up surveys and video
segments from the various panels and keynote remarks to make the message
of universal preschool for all available to a larger audience.
Following the conference, CED, the PNC Financial Services Group and the
Pew Charitable Trusts were pleased with media coverage that included:
The New York Times, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Wall Street
Journal, The Journal News and The Cleveland Plain Dealer among others.
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2006 Media Coverage of Early Childhood Efforts
The New York Times, January 11, 2006
"The Need to Invest in Young Children." (link)
(excerpt) "So despite her restrained tone, Minister (Beverley) Hughes (British Minister for children, young people and families) was a sort of motivational speaker yesterday, talking up her government's approach in a keynote speech at a New York conference intended to build support for government funding of early childhood programs. The conference, "Building the Economic Case for Investments in Preschool," was sponsored by the Committee for Economic Development, a group of business executives and university presidents; The Pew Charitable Trusts; and The PNC Financials Services Group."
The Journal New (Westchester Co. New York), January 10, 2006
Poll: Business backs pre-K (link)
(excerpt) "The poll was commissioned ahead of a conference today in Manhattan on the subject of building an economic case for investing in pre-school education. The conference is sponsored by the Pew Charitable Truss, the Committee for Economic Development, and The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
CED President Charles E.M. Kolb said a national program of pre-school for all who wanted it would cost an estimated $35 billion to $40 billion. The consequences of having a work force incapable of competing globally, however, would be more expensive, he warned.
"We are all going to pay a price for that as Americans," he said during a conference call. "From a business perspective, it's a lot of productivity in future years."
Susan Urahn, director of state policy initiatives for the Pew Charitable Trusts, said about one-third of children enter kindergarten without knowing the alphabet. Children who attend pre-school are less likely to need public assistance or special education programs later in life, and more likely to finish high school, she said."
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, January 9, 2006
Earlier is better, leaders say—Pre-kindergarten gets solid backing in executive survey (link)
(excerpt) "More than four-fifths of the survey respondents agreed that publicly funded pre-kindergarten for all would improve the work force and help America in the long term in the global economy. Nearly two-thirds of those polled said the business community needs to support actively the establishment of such education.
"That's exactly what needs to happen. We really need to get employers to realize that we all need to invest in our children's future," said Beverly Anderson, executive director of Ebenezer Child Care Centers, a nine-site business based in Milwaukee."
"Anybody who knows anything about investments knows that it's all about getting it right up front," said Charles E.M. Kolb, president of the Committee for Economic Development, a business-based public policy group in Washington."
Tulsa World, January 10, 2006
Business chiefs back pre-k in big way: Poll finds
(excerpt) "Business leaders understand investing and investments and getting it right at the beginning," said Charles Kolb, president of the Committee for Economic Development, on a telephone conference. "The view of American business leaders is on the importance of making front-end investments in pre-k and making it a priority at the national level."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 10, 2006
Column (link)
(excerpt) "Heavy hitters from the world of business and finance are meeting in New York City today to discuss the results of new research indicating that good preschools offer society long-term payoffs and short-term savings. The lineup will include Sandra Pianalto, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and Nobel-winning economist James Heckman."
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CED's 2002 Report
— Preschool for All: Investing in a Productive and Just Society
 Since
2002, CED has been engaged in an aggressive national campaign to
build the momentum surrounding investment in early education. The
report calls for free, high quality preschool education for all
children age 3 and over who have not yet entered kindergarten. To
achieve this goal, CED is calling on the business community to help
build public understanding about the economic and social need for
early childhood education in the United States.
Press
Release | Executive
Summary | Full
Report
In Preschool for All, CED has identified five guiding principles
for early education:
Access. Children
age three and up whose parents want them to enroll should have
access to preschool programs that meet recognized standards for
fostering education and school readiness along with social and
physical development.
Delivery. Preschool
education consistent with recognized standards should be obtainable
from a variety of providers, with parents choosing the setting
most appropriate for their child's and family's needs.
Financing. While
states should be responsible for ensuring universal access to
prekindergarten and tying diverse providers into coherent systems
of early education, the federal and state governments should share
responsibility for financing it.
Infrastructure, Quality
Improvement, and Oversight. Resources should be provided
to help improve staff and facilities, and provide technical assistance
and monitoring.
Data and Research.
The federal government and states should improve data collection
to ensure that comparable and reliable information is available
on access, costs, and outcomes, and should support research to
expand our knowledge about the most effective characteristics
of early learning programs.
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2004
Washington, D.C. Conference Materials
On December 3rd, 2004, CED, with the support from The Pew Charitable
Trusts and PNC Financial Services Group, brought together business
leaders, economists, policymakers, and early education experts from
across the country to review and discuss the latest research and
developments regarding the links between investments in preschool
and economic development. The all-day Washington D.C. conference,
Building the Economic Case for Investments in Preschool, included
presentations from over 20 early education and business leaders.
2004
Agenda
The Productivity
Argument for Investing in Young Children (2004), a
major paper by Nobel Laureate James Heckman, was released at the
forum. Dr. Heckman suggests that the United States faces a threat
to future economic productivity due to our lagging efforts to create
and improve preschool programs for all children.
Summary
| Press
Release
CED's September 2004 Early Education Newsletter
http://www.ced.org/docs/newsletter_prek_2004_08.pdf
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For more information about the conference
or CED's early education work, please contact Rachel Pilliod at
202.296.5860 ext 20 or rachel.pilliod@ced.org. |
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