Dona Ditrio, who serves as the early childhood director at New Opportunities, Inc., in Waterbury, recorded a piece that was sent to more than 75 radio stations throughout Connecticut to raise awareness of the March 18 Early Childhood Advocacy Day at the State Capitol. John O'Leary reports.

Federal Reserve worker Rob Grunewald, who co-authored a paper Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return, says 85% of children's brains are developed by the time they reach the age of 3, and studies show where they are stacked among their peers by the time they enter Kindergarten is likely where they will remain for the rest of their lives. There is an mp3 recording attached to this link.

It’s easy to see the benefits of early childhood education in preschoolers. Parental interaction, along with the beginning stages of formal schooling, and assistance with health and nutrition are all good measures for children. But could these initiatives also be essential to the wellbeing of the country?

The fate of the Little Owls Day Care Center is still up in the air, as the most pressing question the school system has is if it can afford to expand programs with a $4.8 million deficit and layoffs looming.

There are plenty of reasons to invest in early childhood education, including increasing the country's economic productivity or global competitiveness. But there is another reason to invest in education -- this can be considered the civil rights issue of our time. Education affords each citizen access to the American Dream -- to pursue one's goals through hard work life and free choice.

On early education, the president moved beyond rhetoric and paired his passion for the issue with money.

Delaware has several programs in place to help boost quality in early education, as well as programs for parents to help them take an active role in their child's education.

Police departments in Texas and North Carolina are throwing their support behind early chilldhood education. In North Carolina, police Chief Rodney Monroe of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg P.D. was on-hand for the release of the North Carolina Fight Crime, Invest in Kids report.  He said when you don't provide that early opportunity for kids, you're only setting that kid up to possibly become a failure. Fighting crime by investing in kids is a worthwhile effort, he concluded. In Fort Worth Texas, several local police chiefs are encouraging lawmakers to improve the state's prekindergarten program. They are supporting State Bill 21 and House Bill 130, which are designed to make several early childhood education improvements, including decreasing class size, enhancing pre-literacy curriculum and extending the program from half-day to a full-day. The chiefs attending March 9's press conference are all members of the Fight Crime, Invest in Kids organization.

Given the current economic climate, policymakers in Nebraska are more inclined to focus their pre-k efforts on low-income children.

In an effort to break the cycle of poverty, St Kitts has implemented a new early childhood policy to respond to the need to improve quality and level of access to early childhood education. This, the government believes, will help break the cycle of poverty in poor families and poor communities.