(Originally Posted: Sunday, September 15, 2013 – www.timesdispatch.com ) 

The authors of Virginia’s modern constitution viewed a superior education for all children as so important that they made the General Assembly responsible for maintaining “public schools of high quality” (Article VIII, Section 1). As parents all over the commonwealth send their children back to school, it is worth remembering that one of the most important factors in having these high-quality schools is preparing our children to be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten.

School readiness takes many forms, from parents reading to their children to effective preschool programs. Whatever the form, the research is compelling: Children’s lifelong success depends in large part on how prepared they are when they enter school. For example, children who are not able to read well by third grade may never catch up to their peers.

School readiness begins in the home, during infancy. When children sit with an adult to read a favorite book, or when they play with another child, the foundation is being laid for reading success, the single most important factor in how well a child does in school. Recognizing the importance of preparing our children to succeed in school, Virginia has a wide range of programs to help them arrive at kindergarten ready to learn. Unfortunately, children’s ZIP codes, not their need for the service, may well determine whether or not they have access to early childhood programs. For example:

• Home visiting programs to help at-risk children and their parents are not available in every part of the state due to lack of funding.

• Some communities are unable to access available state support for preschool for needy 4-year-olds (the Virginia Preschool Initiative), leaving state money for this purpose unspent and low-income children without the opportunity to attend preschool.

• Smart Beginnings, the state’s public-private network that builds capacity in local communities to deliver on school readiness goals, is not available in every community.

These gaps are costly for all of us. In the long term they waste human potential and they deprive our workforce of the skills we need to compete effectively with other states and, increasingly, other nations. In the short term, they waste both time and money. Here is one stark illustration: For children who entered kindergarten in 2006, the state has spent more than $80 million paying the costs of their repeating at least one grade level before they even made it to third grade.

This wasted potential is not just wrong. It is inexcusable, a threat to our state’s prosperity. As a business leader, I know that the most important factor in attracting good jobs to our state is having the educated, skilled workers ready to fill those positions. Making smart investments in early childhood will have the best payoff possible for our economy, our society and our children. That’s why at Dominion we’ve been pleased to invest in the Smart Beginnings program, which brings together schools, churches, libraries, businesses and, most important of all, parents to help build early childhood programs throughout Virginia. These initiatives will give our children the best possible start in school and in life.

That’s an investment opportunity we can all get behind.

Paul Koonce is chief executive officer for Dominion Virginia Power, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, where he can be reached at (804) 358-8323.

For more information, visit www.smartbeginnings.org.