Evie’s Desk: Early Education Investments Pays Off

Among the many benefits of high-quality early education is one explained recently in a succinct way by a knowledgeable and well-respected Nobel Peace Prize recipient. In a letter to Pres. Obama’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reform, University of Chicago economist James Heckman advised the panel to invest in good early education programs or put “our country’s future in peril by producing a deficit in human capital that will take generations to correct.”

Heckman, who won the Nobel Prize in 2000, called high-quality early education “America’s best economic stimulus package.” He broke it down mathematically like this: Investment in early learning yields an estimated 10 percent annual rate of return, he said. So, Heckman reasoned, if a high-quality program that enrolls low-income children costs $8,000 a year per child, then the rate of return for that investment in an individual child is $789,395 in benefits over the following 65 years.

Heckman strongly urged the investment, especially for disadvantaged children age 0 to five and their families.

I can think of many additional reasons, also based on evidence, why high-quality preschool for all children is a sound investment. Children who receive a good preschool education are prepared for kindergarten, perform better on standardized tests and have decreased chances of dropping out or repeating grades. They tend to be emotionally and physically healthy and have a better chance at a happy and productive life that does not rely on government support.

It’s for these reasons that First 5 LA focuses on early childhood education and school readiness. We believe, as well, that there is no better investment in our future than our children.

Evelyn V. Martinez

Chief Executive Officer
First 5 LA

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