The chairman of PNC Financial supports it. The former CEO and chairman of Macy’s backs it. The former CEO of Procter & Gamble is for it. And so is the CEO of Kaiser Permanente. So what is it that all these business industry leaders support? Early childhood education.
Business leaders are finding that employees entering the workforce have not learned many of the skills necessary to succeed. Too many employees lack the essential capabilities that allow an individual to be persistent on the job and collaborate effectively with a team––skills that are fostered in the first five years of life and developed through high-quality early learning.
That’s why current and former executives from major U.S. firms are demonstrating their support of federal early childhood investments. Leaders from firms across key economic sectors, including EcoLab, UPS, American Electric Power, and The Chubb Corporation, joined Ready Nation to tell Congress that early childhood education is critical to developing a competitive workforce. Read their letter, printed in POLITICO, here.
Building on that momentum, over 200 business leaders and policymakers met earlier this week in Atlanta to discuss critical issues of access to and funding for early childhood programs.
The message from the summit was clear: both parties in Congress must to come together to take action.