Arkansas Early Childhood Association

The mission of AECA is to
Enhance the lives of children, families
and early childhood professionals.

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AECA Position Statement for Public Pre-K Funding

The Arkansas Early Childhood Association strongly advocates investing in Arkansas’s success by investing early in education. Quality early learning and education for three- and four-year-old children is a public investment with immediate and long-term benefits. A growing research base indicates the positive returns on early investments in education:

Children from all backgrounds who attended quality preschool programs are more likely to succeed in school.
Quality early learning experiences can help close the achievement gap between low-income and middle-income children.
A dollar invested in quality early education saves over nine dollars in later education, welfare, and justice system costs.
Investing in early care and education is an investment in working families and the local economy.

An investment in quality early learning opportunities for all three- and four-year old children in Arkansas is essential to the state’s educational and economic success. These early learning experiences should be offered by any provider willing to meet Arkansas Better Chance Core Quality standards. Investment in early education saves taxpayers money. Investment in early education provides a foundation for improving educational outcomes for all children. Investment in early education provides working families with support needed to be productive employees and citizens. Investment in early education is an investment in Arkansas’s future workforce. Clearly, early investment provides excellent dividends. Investing early in education is an investment for Arkansas’ future – our economy and our children.