Louisiana's state legislators have taken the first step in making children a priority by passing Senate Bill 286, which would make all pre-school programs readily available to Louisiana's four-year-olds by 2013.

Just under half of Louisiana's three- and four-year-olds currently are not enrolled in a nursery school, preschool or pre-kindergarten education program. We know that early education programs not only stimulate our children academically but introduce youngsters to valuable life skills at the most impressionable time of their lives.

Research shows that children who enter kindergarten familiar with the alphabet will more than likely excel in reading and math, as opposed to their peers who did not receive an early childhood education. They are also more likely to be reading on their own by the end of the school year.

With the passage of Senate Bill 286, we should begin to close the widening educational gaps that have kept too many of our children in Louisiana from experiencing success in school and in life. They will finally have a fair start.

We applaud our state legislators for hearing our voice and being proactive in ensuring that every child in Louisiana matters.

-Nadra Harrison, Director of Communications, ECM in Louisiana

This was originally published in the Times Picayune on June 25, 2008.

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