Originally published on OregonLive.com
Posted by Karen Enns, Hood River, March 07, 2009 8:00PM

The Black Parent Initiative's achievement gap study found that African American Multnomah County students remain behind no matter what the grade, suggesting that they learn at the same rate as white students. It concludes that we need to intervene earlier than Kindergarten and focus more on prevention. In fact, we need to start as early as birth.

Children's brains develop to 80% of their adult size in just their first 3 years of life. This rapid growth period requires careful nurturing, stimulation, and guidance. While many parents know how to do this, unfortunately, many do not.

Oregon has programs that help: Healthy Start, Early Head Start, and Relief Nurseries for 0-3 year olds, and Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten (OPK) for 3-4 year olds. Children who participate in these high-quality early education programs are much more likely to arrive at school socially,emotionally and academically on track. Thousands are waiting to get in due to underfunding. Urge your legislators to invest where it matters the most.