Original Source | Oregon Live
By Richard C. Alexander, Saturday April 2, 2011

As a state, we have a choice to make in the next few months. We can continue walking headlong into a headwind of economic and social decline, or we can turn around and ride the tailwind to a more prosperous future. A more effective and accountable system of educating children is the tailwind Oregon needs.

Gov. John Kitzhaber's proposal to overhaul education in Oregon provides the Legislature with an opportunity to shift the state's momentum in a new direction. The governor's ambitious plan for an aligned birth-through-age-20 approach to education reform begins with the most critical part of the continuum -- early childhood. This main thrust, outlined in his Early Childhood and Family Investment Transition Report, would replace Oregon's fragmented approach to delivering early childhood services with a more rational, outcomes-focused system. While details of the plan's implementation need to be worked out, the concept is Oregon's most significant education policy proposal in a generation. I commend Kitzhaber for making early childhood a top priority for his administration and for prioritizing early childhood services in his recommended budget for this biennium.

Let's be candid. Oregon is spending significant sums of money on education, and in return huge numbers of kids are dropping out and many others are graduating from high school poorly prepared for college or employment. Something has to change.

Early identification of children who are at risk, a streamlined approach to delivering services, accountability for service providers and a clear linkage between early learning, K-12 and higher education are the pillars of Kitzhaber's plan. These system changes alone will go a long way toward preparing children for school, closing the achievement gap and increasing high school and college graduation rates.

Not realizing this opportunity to close the achievement gap is a mistake that would haunt Oregon for generations. And because important developmental gaps between children on the low end of the socio-economic spectrum and children on the other end first appear in the early years, focusing resources here builds a critical foundation that will foster positive outcomes in K-12 and higher education.

The governor's plan has support on both sides of the political aisle in Salem, perhaps because the financial payoff of investing in children at the earliest ages has been documented repeatedly by the nation's leading economists. An independent statewide poll by the Children's Institute also suggests Kitzhaber is on the right track. Among a randomly selected sample of 600 likely voters, three-quarters support public investments in early childhood as essential to closing the achievement gap and building a stronger work force. A whopping 80 percent think the Legislature should invest in early learning even in difficult economic times. These statistics should erase any doubt about where the general public stands on early education.

Starting with Kitzhaber's framework, let's provide Oregonians with the education they need and deserve. Let's educate our way back to prosperity.

Richard C. Alexander is chairman of the Ready for School campaign.