There are plenty of good arguments for better early learning in research papers and academia, but when those arguments come from the business world it’s a big step forward.

Now, one of the nation’s top human resources groups has called for smarter investments in early learning in a new brief that suggests if we want to create a competitive workforce for tomorrow, we should invest in better child care today.

The foundation of skills required to grow a team-capable, job-ready workforce is built in the earliest years of life - between birth and age 5 – yet we do not give our young children the early supports they need to get there. – “Meeting the Workforce Needs of Tomorrow, Means Meeting the Developmental Needs of Children Today.” (Thanks to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies for highlighting this report.)

The Society for Human Resource Management brief covers familiar ground – early learning’s great return on investment and the rapid brain growth from birth to age three.

But, its argument starts with a different and fresher angle, suggesting that today’s workforce is falling short in key areas and that better investment in early learning is part of the solution.

 …Although employers expect young people to arrive in the workplace with a set of basic and applied skills, the reality is not matching expectations. – “Meeting the Workforce Needs of Tomorrow,” citing the 2006 report “Are They Really Ready to Work?”

For example, the report says 40 percent of employers rated high school graduates as lacking skills they needed for entry-level jobs.

For the next two decades, they will be learning how to think, act and compete in the global marketplace. By investing in our youngest children now – when those investments will yield the highest societal returns - we can build the workforce we need to keep America competitive in the years ahead. – “Meeting the Workforce Needs of Tomorrow.”

To build that workforce, the human resources group joined forces with other business types, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturing Institute, to lobby for better children’s programs.

Check it out.

With the U.S. economy finally getting back on track, a report says child care ranks up there with retail and tourism as a boon to economic development.

While building roads and easing credit for businesses have been seen as classic ways to bolster the economy, spending on child care often was left off the list, even though evidence showed it offered long-term benefits, according to “Child Care Multipliers: Stimulus for the States.”Investments in child care, however, spread quickly throughout a regional economy, the report suggests, not only by creating new jobs, but by spurring providers to buy more stuff, creating wages that employees then spend in the economy and in other ways.

On average, for each new dollar spent in the child care sector, the broader statewide economic impact is two dollars. For each new job created in the child care sector, the broader statewide impact is 1 ½ jobs. -- “Child Care Multipliers.”

The report looks at multipliers in economic development, or how $1 invested in one industry or company can generate greater returns. And it turns out quality child care boosts these economic multipliers.

In states with policies that promote quality child care, we find higher child care multipliers, suggesting that quality is associated with higher levels of regional spending by child care providers and workers.

All of this analysis is designed partly to show why the Obama administration put billions of dollars for early learning in last year’s economic stimulus package, and why it makes sense to spend it on the sector.

The relative rank and size of this economic linkage calls for greater economic development attention to be given to the child care sector. This, in addition to the sector’s importance as social infrastructure supporting parent workers and human development of the future workforce, makes it a worthy target for economic stimulus and development policy.

Playground Jail? On a New York City playground, a structure had a play jail door, EarlyStories reports.

For reasons that are eluding and mystifying New Yorkers, the playground in a Brooklyn housing project contained a fake prison door, marked JAIL in bright colors, much to the chagrin of parents who live nearby and spend their lives trying to keep their kids in school and out of jail. The playground sat square in the middle of a housing project known for gang activity and violence. – “Playground as prison: What message is sent?” EarlyStories, 3/25/10.

(Apparently, the jail sign has been painted over, the news site reports. Check out the whole story.)

A new report out of New York offers another economics lesson, suggesting every dollar invested in early learning within that state generates $1.86 in new spending.

With New York struggling to cut its state budget, a Leading Edge report offers a compelling argument to spend more not less on early education, saying an infusion of $3.6 billion to give all of the state’s kids access to quality early child care and education would create $6.7 billion in spending on New York businesses.

“Business leaders are sending a clear message to Albany: investing in early education is essential for economic development in New York. The early care and education sector is an often-overlooked area that will immediately boost the economy and create long-term economic security,” John Cavalier, former chief executive officer at MapInfo, said in a summary of the report.

While a number of studies offer estimates on the long-term return-on-investment of early education, this report focuses on many short-term benefits, including $80 million in sales at local utility companies, $113 million at restaurants and $29 million in sales at supermarkets.

It also offers fresh evidence for an idea that is gaining momentum: Quality early learning plays an important though sometimes overlooked role in a region’s economic competitiveness, since it helps attract new businesses and skilled workers.

“Investing in early learning would also save New York businesses money every day through reduced absenteeism and turnover and would help increase the ability of New York businesses to attract skilled employees and new businesses. Quality early care and education programs allow working parents to be attentive to their jobs rather than worry about day care arrangements.” – New York Businesses Leaders See Major Economic Boost By Expanding Child Care and Pre-K (press release), America’s Edge, 3/11/10.

And if you want a little inspiration, check out the Heckman Equation’s Facebook post with highlights from last Thursday’s National Economic Forum on Early Childhood Investment.

“…early childhood education is like the foundation to a house. It the foundation is not sound, everything else suffers.” – Michael Mandel, former chief economist at BusinessWeek.

You can read the entire story here.

Washington State News

• Early learning meetings wrap up Thursday – 9/23/09, Walla Walla Union Bulletin
• U.S. Senate OKs Funding for Two Bremerton Projects – 9/21/09, The Kitsap Sun

National News

• Early Childhood Investment and the Private Sector – 9/9/09, BusinessWeek
• Fixing Our Broken Economy – 9/24/09, Telluride Watch (CO)
• Editorial: Doing more than talk about putting kids first – 9/20/09, The Oklahoman (OK)
  
• Fighting for an Early Edge – 9/19/09, The Times-Picayune (LA)
• Don't quit on kids to balance state budget – 9/22/09, The Detroit News (MI)
• Initiative Focuses on Early Learning Programs – 9/19/09, The New York Times
• Atlanta poised to lead early learning – 9/18/09, The Atlanta Journal Constitution (GA)
• State preschool expansion boosts grade – 9/21/09, The Oregonian

Policy

• New Analysis Points to Size of Early Literacy Gap – 9/21/09, The New American Foundation: The Early Ed Watch Blog

Early learning has scored impressive victories in recent years - billions of dollars in fresh federal funding and growing state support - and business executives deserve some of the credit.

These days chief executives sit on early education boards, invest in scholarships and development and argue for the benefits of top-quality child care. This morning I was reminded of this while reading that one executive, Scope View Strategic Advantage’s chief Bill Millet, suggested good child care can attract business development.

“Millett’s company helps businesses and industries select sites to locate in. Early educational opportunities, he said, are increasingly features those companies look for in selecting a site to locate a plant or business,” – “Early Childhood Development is Economic Development: In an Increasingly Competitive World, U.S. Must Invest in Children,” Ludington Daily News, 9/22/09.

This would be a powerful shift in business thinking because if companies add quality child care to the low taxes, free and cheap land and job training they seek when looking for places to build, early ed advocates could gain leverage in state legislatures. In fact, The Boeing Co.’s latest dance with states over where to locate a 787 airplane production line could test this idea.

For years, we have heard these economic arguments – though site selection is a new one to me – but the debate is getting louder and the proponents more powerful.
Last year, for example, my favorite Federal Reserve economist Arthur Rolnick reported that chief executives from Cargill, Best Buy, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and EcoLab sit on the Minneapolis Early Learning Foundation board.

“Our top CEOs are involved in this,” the Minneapolis Fed economist told the Milken Institute’s Global Conference. “I just got called by…Coca Cola and Home Depot in Atlanta. They are very interested in this model and they are actually coming to Minneapolis and St. Paul to see how we are doing this.” (Check out his video on this Web site for a min-class on Rolnick’s thinking.).

They are not sitting on these boards just to feel better about themselves. It would appear economic arguments for top-quality child care are getting through to them. Rolnick cited one study that showed a $20,000 two-year investment in quality early learning offered a 16 percent return, even after adjusted for inflation. This is a language CEOs understand.

On top of all the powerful research on the benefits of early learning, we have to give business leaders credit for joining the debate and moving it forward.

Thanks to the National Institute for Early Education Research for finding the news out of Michigan.)

I stumbled across a fascinating new University of Virginia video today that lays out a compelling case for the importance of how kids are taught in preschool and the need for quality teaching.

The video moves between classroom scenes and researchers talking about quality preschool teaching. On one level the message is simple.

“What we are learning is that there are elements of what teachers know that are important, but it is far more important what teachers do with children in those classrooms that is important,” said Robert Pianta, dean of the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education. “I think one of the more important elements that we see of interaction are the ways in which adults provide ways that stretch the child’s thinking.”

Whether you are a parent looking for quality or a teacher building quality in your classroom, the video is worth checking out. It is part of UVA’s Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). (I hope to get more on this effort later today.)

Check out The Early Ed Watch Blog’s take on the video, CLASS and quality, "Stretching Children's Thinking": New Video Highlights Importance of Classroom Interactions. (Thanks Early Ed for highlighting this new video.)

OHIO UPDATE: Last week we updated you on how a handful of big states are struggling with tough early learning decisions. It turns out Ohio’s Democratic governor Ted Strickland wants to cut: Possible Childcare Cuts Hit Home.