In August, the California senate struck down a bill requiring students to attend a full year of Kindergarten, citing the rising costs of education. While state budgets need to be considered, this decision doesn’t reflect the necessity of early learning, especially for disadvantaged students.

The first few years at school can dictate a child’s outcomes through high school and beyond. Students who read below grade level by third grade, 74% of whom are low-income, are four times more likely to drop out of high school. But that achievement gap begins early: children entering school in first grade test lower than their peers in literacy and math, forcing them to quickly catch up or fall behind. Pre-K and kindergarten are also a time for students to practice necessary social skills, like following directions and cooperative work—skills that students in remote early learning are now struggling to learn.

However, rising education costs and lack of after-school care can force low-income parents to keep their children home for an extra year. During the pandemic, kindergarten enrollment dropped 9% statewide, and chronic absenteeism rose to over 40%.These students are no less excited to learn than their peers, and their parents are no less invested in their children’s futures. They shouldn’t need to sacrifice education for economic stability.

This year, almost half of our new BASIC Fund scholars are entering pre-K or kindergarten. Their parents have chosen schools that will help foster a love of learning and a safe environment for them to grow.

I've written before about the positive effects of closing the economic achievement gap,which would raise the national GDP by almost $900 billion, but on a micro level, these children deserve a fair educational start. When you fund early education, you fund new futures.

What was the most important lesson you learned in kindergarten?