Businesses Push Early-Childhood Programs

By Dave Dewitte, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Sep. 24–Early-childhood education may not seem like a bottom-line item to businesses, but a group representing Iowa’s largest employers says it is.

The Iowa Business Council hopes to elevate the level of debate over the need for early-childhood education programs in every public school through two conferences next week.

One conference will be Tuesday at the Sheraton Hotel, Iowa City. The other will be Thursday at the Iowa Events Center, Des Moines.

“We’ve been working on this for about three years, and are excited that in this last legislative session we had the governor and the Democrats and Republicans talking about early-childhood education,” said Max Phillips, president of Qwest-Iowa and chair of the council’s Early Childhood Committee.

Phillips said one reason the state’s 23 biggest employers care about early-childhood education is that parental worries about preschool children are a major component in workplace absenteeism and stress.

More big reasons: A growing body of research indicates children are capable of learning earlier than previously thought, and evidence that beginning to learn earlier provides lifetime advantages.

“There is so much more that we can teach our children to get them more ready to succeed in school,” Phillips said.

Overall, Phillips said, studies have yielded estimates that every dollar spent on early childhood development returns $7 to society.

“Early-childhood programs like Head Start have shown great success and now’s the time to see how we replicate that for all Iowa kids,” Phillips said. “In the end, it will benefit all Iowans.” Speakers at the Iowa City event on Tuesday will include Dr. Lise Eliot, author of “Early Intelligence: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years.” Dr. Robert Koob, president of the University of Northern Iowa, will offer an overview of education in Iowa. Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack will discuss the issue from a state government perspective.

The Iowa Business Council has no specific proposals for integrated early-childhood education in public schools, Phillips said, but wants to see it proliferate.

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