Education White Paper: Building A Foundation for Lifelong Success

Why Education Matters.

Education is the foundation for a good life, setting an individual on a path of personal fulfillment and social contribution. It is essential to getting and keeping a well-paying job with benefits. And it is fundamental to a community’s economic prosperity: Today’s children are tomorrow’s workforce, and a well-educated workforce attracts good jobs.   

Preparing Children to Succeed Early

Learning begins at birth. The experiences a child has before entering kindergarten are crucial because they actually help shape the architecture of a child's brain. A child whose physical needs are met, who experiences loving interactions from parents and other caregivers, and who benefits from high-quality early learning environments is less likely to need special education, more likely to graduate from high school on time, and more likely to be employed and own a home, than a child who does not begin school with this strong foundation.
 

The Importance of High School and Post-Secondary Education

Most jobs in today’s economy require an individual to have, at a minimum, a high school degree; a college degree improves an individual’s ability to support a family.  A recent study puts the average cost to the public over the working life of each high school dropout at $292,0001; for a community with hundreds of high school dropouts, these costs add up rapidly.

Academic attainment is one of the single-most critical predictors of outcomes such as personal health, life expectancy, earnings, and civic participation.  Completing high school and earning a post-secondary degree greatly increases individual income and economic well-being, and thus helps to strengthen and stabilize the community. Individuals who have limited literacy, math and computer skills face significant challenges in finding work that can support a family.
 

Better Education Benefits All of Us

While low academic achievement profoundly impacts an individual, the implications are magnified when the multi-generational effect is considered. Children who grow up in poverty are at greater risk of raising children in poverty — a cruel cycle of diminished life prospects.

Ensuring that all children achieve academically is the surest recipe for success for all members of our community.