Early Childhood Education: Now More Than Ever

College graduates fare better on a variety of outcomes, but many students who enroll in college do not graduate, particularly low-income and minority students. Research shows that preparation is key to college completion, and that preparation begins with early childhood education. There are disparities in access to high-quality early childhood education that track with disparities in college completion. Pandemic-related child care and school closures risk exacerbating the already-large gaps in educational attainment between children from high- and low-income families. Parents are struggling to balance work, virtual schooling and child care. We’re seeing negative effects on women’s labor force participation, and more parents leaving the workforce could be detrimental to our country’s long-term growth. Another issue is the health of the child care industry itself. We need to figure out how to operate centers safely, effectively and affordably. One idea is to lower costs by broadening shared services models. An intriguing option for making child care more affordable is expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to provide more support to working parents.