An article from K-12 Dive highlights how unequal investment in children before age 5 is driving long-term challenges and costs across K-12 schools. Disparities in access to stable housing and quality childcare create gaps in learning and development well before kindergarten, with effects that persist throughout students’ academic journeys.
The study, led by Associate Professor David Blazar and several College of Education colleagues, finds: “These differences are largely explained by white and higher-income families investing more in childcare from someone other than a relative, as well as housing, where large gaps start at birth and continue throughout childhood. These patterns are concerning, as early childhood is a critical period in which investments have large returns.”
