Early childhood education key to curbing dropout rates,
boosting long-term economic development, economist says

By Ashley A. Smith | The Flint Journal
August 12, 2008

FLINT, Michigan -- Genesee County schools are looking to curb high school drop out rates and increase economic development by starting childhood education as early as 1 year old.

The Genesee County Great Start Collaborative held a breakfast presentation this morning featuring Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Economist Rob Grunewald on the benefits of implementing an early childhood development program for children before they head to preschool.

"The next dollar invested in early childhood education will yield the highest return," Grunewald said. "The brain needs stimulation from the environment, it's the only organ not fully formed at birth."

Grunewald said about 85 percent of a child's brain is formed by age 3 or 4, and that development can be a make or break factor in their futures.

In St. Paul, Minn., an early childhood pilot program provides scholarships to about 1,200 children for a program that educates 3-year-olds and parent mentoring for 1-year-olds.

The program costs about $15 million through endowment funds.

A similar program in Genesee County is in the early stages with no definitive plans on costs, implementation or a start date.

"It's a slow process because it's a huge project," said Beth Hackett, coordinator for Genesee County Great Start Collaborative. "We are working on (identifying) our early childhood problems. The financial piece is that once we show what the educational gaps are we can identify where to bring in resources."

A report on early childhood educational gaps in the county won't be ready until September, Hackett said.

The county has about 6,000 kids under the age of 5 and about 30 percent of those children are living in poverty, Hackett said.

Grunewald said the program identifies at-risk children who grow up in poverty or low-income households because their success brings in higher rate of return by preventing high school drop-outs, higher tax revenues through successful employment and fewer incarcerations.

"Areas growing economically are growing because of a ready workforce for information and technology jobs," Hackett said. "We have a population we would like to get into these jobs and the key is educational programs."

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