The Portland Press Herald – Christopher Emmons and Jim Clair
“The Maine Sunday Telegram’s July 26 editorial – “Our View: To break cycle of poverty, start with Maine kids” – aptly discusses the impact of poverty on Maine’s children. As members of the Maine Early Learning Investment Group, we agree that early intervention is necessary to break the cycle of poverty, and we believe that this intervention should take the form of investments in early childhood education. During the first few years of life, the brain is wired for lifelong learning and is more receptive and responsive to experiences (both good and bad) than it will ever be again. Stress factors such as poverty can interrupt successful early brain wiring and learning potential. As a result, children are not “school ready” when they enter kindergarten. Their emotional and social skill development is impaired, leading to a significant achievement gap between them and their less-disadvantaged peers. The gap also costs us in real dollars that we fund to remediate between 15 and 18 percent of K-12 students.”(more)