Neurological research shows that the early years play a key role in children’s brain development. Babies begin to learn about the world around them from a very early age – including during the prenatal, perinatal (immediately before and after birth) and postnatal period. 

Children’s early experiences – the bonds they form with their parents and their first learning experiences – deeply affect their future physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. Optimizing the early years of children’s lives is the best investment we can make as a society in ensuring their future success.

Getting Down to Facts II, a two-year, in-depth analysis of education in California was released in October 2018. One of the key findings is that to close California's Achievement Gap, a lot more money needs to be spent on preschool.

The report goes on to say: 

"Though California students may be learning at the same rate as their peers elsewhere, they aren’t catching up because so many are handicapped by a lack of preparation even for kindergarten, the researchers concluded."

“California’s lag in academic achievement,” writes the research group led by Stanford education professor Sean F. Reardon, “arises before children even enter the schoolhouse door.”

It's important that the Lake County Office of Education continue to support and continue to grow our public, private and non-profit preschools in our community.

Read more of the CALmatters report on preschool.

Read more about Getting Down to Facts II on their website.

Brock Falkenberg
Lake County Superintendent of Schools