Original Source | Deseret News, McClatchy Newspapers
By Rick Montgomery, Saturday November 14, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Chalk up another national-security threat - this one looming with each excess pound, failing grade and drug bust affecting young adults.

An alarming 75 percent of Americans ages 17 to 24 would not qualify for military service today because they are physically unfit, failed to finish high school or have criminal records. So says a new report from an organization of education and military leaders calling for immediate action on the early-education front.

Original Source | Education Week
By Dakarai I. Aarons, Friday November 6, 2009

The United States should invest in early education to help bolster the number of young people eventually eligible to serve in the military and protect national-security interests, a report released this week argues.

A majority of the nation's young adults are ineligible for military service because they have not graduated from high school, have criminal records, or are physically unfit, says the report, produced by Mission: Readiness-Military Leaders For Kids. The nonprofit national-security group, based in Washington, is made up of more than seven dozen retired senior military officers.

Original Source | The Honolulu Advertiser
By Rob Grunewald & Arthur Rolnick, Sunday October 11, 2009

Childhood-development spending pays off in many ways for society

Imagine a typical Hawaii sunny day and a playground full of 3- and 4-year-old kids from poor households. Given their socioeconomic status, these children are more at risk to drop out of school, end up in prison, or receive welfare payments than their peers from middle- and high-income households.

Original Source | The Oregonian
By Bill Graves, Monday September 21, 2009

Oregon's schools won high marks on a report card issued today by a national economic nonprofit called the Corporation for Enterprise Development.

The corporation, which focuses on expanding economic opportunities for Americans, gave Oregon a B grade for education and for business and jobs, a C for Oregonians' assets, income and housing and a D for health care.