INCREASING ACCESS TO QUALITY PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS

WHEREAS, 20 percent of children entering kindergarten lack thesocial and emotional skills necessary for classroom learning;and

WHEREAS, less than half of children in poverty attend preschoolat ages 3 and 4; and

WHEREAS, children of families with modest incomes, slightlybelow the average, participate less in preschool education thanfamilies in poverty; and

WHEREAS, only 30.5 percent of Hispanic 3 year olds attendcenter-based preschool education programs and 45.8 percent ofnon-Hispanic children; and

WHEREAS, almost 80 percent of total brain development occursbefore the age of five; and

WHEREAS, children attending high quality preschool programs areengaged in early literacy development training; and

WHEREAS, students who have attended quality preschoolprogramming have less grade retention and increased high schoolgraduation rates when compared to those who have not attended;and

WHEREAS, students having attended preschool programs are lesslikely to smoke and are more to likely make better personalhealth decisions; and

WHEREAS, young adults who participated in quality earlychildhood education programs were arrested less often, had fewerbirths out of wedlock, and were less likely to use welfare thantheir peers who did not participate; and

WHEREAS, high quality preschool programs lead to decreased crimeand delinquency rates,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors urges federal, state, and local governmentsto invest in expanding access to quality preschool education;and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Conference of Mayors believesthat the extent of preschool education’s impact depends on bothquality resources for students and the professional developmentof teachers, paraprofessionals and staff in early educationcenters.