- In the state of Nevada, approximately 53,000 or 70% of young children do not attend preschool. Many of these children, approximately 27%, do not attend because they live in poverty and their families cannot afford to send them. It is currently cheaper for a parent to enroll their child at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas or the University of Nevada, Reno than to send them to a licensed early childhood education center, family childcare or group-based care.
- Research has shown that 90% of a child’s brain architecture is developed by age 5, meaning that every early childhood experience, good or bad, lays the foundation for later success. Young children who are exposed to high-quality early learning – at home or in the classroom – have a much greater chance at success in adulthood.
- When children who are at-risk do not have access nor the means to receive a high-quality early childhood education, the outcomes are devastating; they are 25% more likely to drop out of school, 40% more likely to become a teen parent, 50% more likely to be placed in special education, 60% more likely to never attend college, and 70% more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
- Human capital creates economic capital. The viability of our economy greatly depends on the skills and abilities of its workforce, and we agree that Nevada’s workforce pipeline is not producing the employees we need. And to remedy this, we need to start at the beginning.
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