The National Children’s Campaign is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for policies that provide children with a quality educational experience. One of the greatest equalizers that can lift children out of generational poverty and success as adults in education. However, children of color and economically disadvantaged children are more likely to lack access to high-quality learning opportunities. Recent studies have shown that 67% of 8th public school students can’t read at grade level. 1 Low-income students of color suffer predominantly from the educational achievement gap. Less than half of poor children are ready for school at age five. 2 These children and those with disabilities are also at risk of entering the school-to-prison pipeline due to hostile school environments and exclusionary discipline policies. Furthermore, children who are in foster care, homeless or returning from juvenile detention are at greatest risk of falling behind and dropping out of school due to being educationally disadvantaged.
The National Children’s Campaign believes that every child should have an opportunity to a public educational school system where children can reach their full potential regardless of race, socio-economic status or disabilities. This means that all of America’s children have access to high-quality schools and teachers. All children should be assured freedom from discrimination and assured full-bodied enforcement of our nation’s educational and civil rights laws. Children who are in foster care, homeless or returning from juvenile detentions must also be given additional attention with regards to their educational needs.
Early Education and Child Care
The National Children’s Campaign is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for policies that ensure children have a great start in life. The greatest time of brain development is the earliest years of a child’s life. Early quality education can make all the difference and proven research shows it builds a foundation for better life outcomes of health, education and income. Unfortunately, 3.8 million children under five are living in poverty with the odds stacked against them and have limited access to high quality affordable early education or childcare and live in stressful environments. 3
The federal government could uplift millions of children by providing federal funding for high-quality early education investments in programs like Head Start and childcare, which is often unaffordable.
We work with policymakers to push for early, high-quality childhood education regardless of race, gender or family outcome that builds a strong foundation for their lives.
1. U.S. Department of Education. 2016. “2015 Mathematics and Reading Assessments Report Card: Summary Data Tables with Additional Detail for Average Scores and Achievement Levels for States and Jurisdictions.” https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2015/#reading/scores?grade=4.
2. Center on Children and Families at Brookings: Starting School at a Disadvantage: The School Readiness of Poor Children. The Social Genome Project, Isaacs, Julia B. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED530378
3. Annie E. Casey https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/44-children-in-poverty-by-race-andethnicity#detailed/1/any/false/37,871,870,573,869,36,868,867,133,38/10,11,9,12,1,185,13/324,323
Definitions: The share of children under age 18 who live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, by race and ethnicity.
Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, 2001 Supplementary Survey, 2002 through 2018 American Community SurveyJens Ludwig and Deborah A. Phillips, “Long-Term Effects of Head Start on Low-Income Children” Annals of New York Academy of Sciences, 1136, (2008): 257–268. http://home.uchicago.edu/~ludwigj/papers/NYAS-LudwigPhillipsHeadStart-2008.pdf