Off to school — early

About 60 percent of American children under age 5 spend part of their day in care outside of the home.

Lawmakers are taking on the appropriate policy role of ensuring these children spend at least part of the day in preparation for primary education.

School readiness is the raison d'être behind a countrywide push to advance, improve and broaden early-childhood education. Nearly all states are on board with some investment in preschool programs. But quality and efforts vary, underscoring a problem likely to require a federal solution.

Oklahoma leads the nation with 70 percent of its 4-year-olds enrolled in quality early-learning centers. Idaho has done embarrassingly little.

Washington state ranks low in the number of 3- and 4-year-olds served by preschool programs, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. But our state stands out for its substantial progress creating uniform access to early learning.

The Department of Early Learning, the two-year-old government agency overseeing early-learning efforts, wields the powerful imprint of Gov. Chris Gregoire coupled with $330 million in state and federal funding.

The agency is behind private-public partnerships in Yakima and White Center, a welcome start to meeting the challenges of preschool access and quality around the region.

Children enrolled in early-learning programs tend to perform better in math and reading and are less likely to repeat a grade, drop out of school or need remedial education.

In contrast, children who start school with weak academic skills often cost more money to educate and take longer to get through school.

The next two sessions for the state Legislature will cast a spotlight on early-educational programs that work and bring together the newfound confluence of money and public commitment.