I strongly believe that play is a right of childhood. Young children learn best when they have the opportunity to explore materials and figure out how things work. I have seen young children’s love for learning grow as the depth of their understanding about a particular subject matter deepen with each learning activity, each book read aloud or song is sung. It always puts a smile on my face when I hear the children running outside toward the classroom when they first arrive in the morning. We should all share in their enthusiasm for learning and going to school.

We are at a crucial juncture in our state where we can make it a priority to ensure that every young child has the access to a quality early learning program. Our governor has made early learning one of his priorities and created the Office of Early Learning to help create the standards, programs, and bills to support our youngest citizens. I stand with him to advocate that every child have the opportunity for early learning so that they can reach their highest potential and succeed in life.

The average cost for preschool care in Hawaii is $7,752 a year. The annual tuition cost for the University of Hawaii-Manoa is $10,622. Families have 18 years to save for their child’s college education, but do not have the luxury to have money in their savings to send their child to preschool.

Too many young families cannot afford the high cost of care for their children and opt to not send them to school.

The governor is trying to ensure that all children can have the opportunity to attend preschool and get the experience to socialize, play and actively learn about their world around them.

All children deserve a high quality environment. All children deserve to receive critical tools for learning success. All children deserve the same head start.

Eliminating early education investments now would increase our children’s chances of going to prison later by up to 39 percent. Paying for that prison will cost us nearly three times more a year than it would have cost to provide them with a quality early learning experience. Hawaii is one of 11 states that does not provide a state-funded preschool. I believe it is crucial that we support our children by making preschool accessible to all 4-year-olds.

Young children do not enter the classroom as empty vessels ready to be filled. They enter already being full of knowledge of themselves and of the most important people in their lives, their family. Children learn best within the context of their family. The journey of raising young children is so much more rewarding when there is a partnership between teachers and families. Collectively, we need to give families the support they need to send their keiki to school so that they have the foundation to be successful.

Every child has a unique gift, voice, and talent to share with others. We can nurture what each child has to offer the world by making sure they begin school with a solid foundation, feeling good about who they are and where they come from. Take a stand with me for our youngest keiki to ensure that they all have an early start to learning.