Research has shown that:

• Learning begins very early and brains are impacted most in the earliest years.
• Quality early learning experiences are critical for the long-term educational and economic success of children.
• Programs targeting the earliest years have the highest return on investment.
• Despite decades of educational reform, our children are still facing persistent achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students and between poor and non-poor students.
• At least half of the educational achievement gaps between poor and non-poor children already exist at kindergarten entry. The larger the gap at school entry, the harder it is to close.
• The lack of ready schools costs all of us. In 2001-2002, 22,343 K-3 students were retained in North Carolina. Adding this extra year of education cost the state more that $170 million.
• Children who experience successful transitions to school are more likely to be emotionally prepared for school, more confident in the classroom, and more likely to succeed.
• Even with quality preschool interventions, at-risk children can experience a “fade out” of learning gains without continued appropriate instruction in primary grades. This “fade out” is less likely in schools that connect pre-k to kindergarten and primary grades through a PK-3 education program.
• Communities with low student success rates are perceived as less desirable by principals, teachers, businesses, and employees, potentially leading to disinvestment in these communities.

Ready Schools seek to unite school, community, and families by creating a seamless continuum of learning and services for children from birth to age 8. This collaborative continuum of services, supports, and resources provided in a variety of settings helps ensure that children and families experience school and life successes.