A great return on our investment

By Thomas L. Aller

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For more than 25 years, the Iowa Business Council (IBC) has remained focused on supporting Iowa's economic health through research and the development of public policy that strengthens Iowa's economy over the long term.

The current discussion in the Legislature regarding funding for and access to prekindergarten schooling transcends our classrooms and halls of the State Capitol. This issue impacts everyone, including the Iowa businesses that will continue to rely on our schools to produce well-educated and skilled workers.

Investment in human capital means economic success not only for those individuals being educated, but for the overall economy. It is the graduates of this system from which our labor pool is stocked and replenished and from which the leaders of our communities emerge.

Preparing for the 21st century work force begins before our children enter the primary school system. Recent research supports the premise that investments in early learning are an investment in work force development.

Early childhood education provides up to a $17 return on investment for each dollar spent. (Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.)

Children who enter school without the skills needed are more likely to struggle in the classroom and patterns that predict the potential for dropouts are visible as early as the third grade. (Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Institute for Competitive Workforce.)

Half of all low-income preschoolers do not have the literacy skills necessary to be ready for school.

In Linn County, the percentage of preschoolers who are ready for school has declined from 70 percent in 2005 to

57 percent in 2008. (Source: Readiness Statistics from Linn County Empowerment 2009 Annual Report.)

The economic impact of student dropouts is potentially staggering to Iowa's economy. Current projections indicate that 300 students will drop out of the Cedar Rapids Community School District in 2011; this could cost our economy $79 million in lost earnings over their lifetime. (Source: Readiness Statistics from Linn County Empowerment 2009 Annual Report.)

Access to quality early childhood education should be available to parents of all Iowa children regardless of socio-economic status, with no gaps. Participation by 4- and 5-year-olds in these programs should be voluntary, with certifiable standards and quantifiable metrics in place for all publicly funded providers.

In the end, the payoff for investing in quality early childhood education is a more productive employee and citizen of Iowa, an adult who misses work less frequently, gets involved with community and charitable activities and contributes to the tax effort at all levels.

How do our children prepare for school? Environments and experiences are the most influential in the development of a child's brain in the early years.

Brain development happens at an astonishing rate in the first five years of life and particularly the first two. Iowa's children need to be exposed to educational materials that build vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. In many cases, particularly for children from low-income households, this simply is not occurring. That is why preschool education is so critical.

We are experiencing difficult economic times. Iowa's executive and legislative branches have difficult choices before them. Like private enterprise, our collective focus needs to be on funding areas that produce the biggest return on investment. Pre-K programming is one such area.

Hopefully agreement can be reached to continue to build a world-class childhood education system while recognizing the need to adopt a fiscally responsible state budget.

Preparing Iowa's children for tomorrow's work force is our job today.

Thomas L. Aller is president of Interstate Power and Light Co., an Alliant Energy Company, and chairman of the Iowa Business Council, whose members include the executives of 20 of the state's largest businesses, the three Regent university presidents, and the president and CEO of Iowa's largest banking association. Comments: www.alliantenergy.com/ContactUs