Mayor Lucas, we can fight Kansas City crime by boosting early childhood education

In 2021, we recorded the second deadliest year in Kansas City history because of gun violence. A critical question that Kansas Citians, including Mayor Quinton Lucas, continue asking is how to reduce the alarming rates of violent crime in a city that earned another record that isn’t one to be applauded. And with a 6-year-old boy killed just this week, 2022 isn’t proving to be much better.

Lucas advocates for curbing violent crime and increasing community prosperity by investing in workforce and community development with young people — specifically students 11 or 12 years old.

Mayor Lucas, respectfully: That is too late.

About 90% of the brain develops by age 5. By this time, children form millions of connections that will inform the rest of their lives. Because of this, children’s earliest experiences and relationships in their first five years are critical for healthy development. Consequently, high-quality early childhood education programs are essential. They help children gain the necessary academic, emotional and social skills and confidence to flourish in school and in life. For these reasons, Kansas City must invest in our youngest children, not just those entering middle and high school, to create lasting and systemic change.

High-quality pre-K programs contribute to narrowing the achievement gap for low-income and minority populations by connecting families to resources, strengthening bonds between children and caregivers, and strengthening students’ academic, social and emotional skills. According to the Perry Preschool Study, a 50-year longitudinal study of early childhood, children who accessed high-quality early childhood education programs had fewer teenage pregnancies, were more likely to graduate from high school and pursue higher education or vocational training, had higher earnings and committed fewer crimes.

Studies have also found that for every $1 invested in early learning programs, returns ranged from $4 to $9 in the form of reduced costs for special education, social programs and crime. Access to high-quality early childhood education minimizes the need for more expensive interventions later in a child’s life and produces positive long-term outcomes for the greater community.

Unfortunately, this education is inaccessible for most parents and caregivers in Kansas City.

Our community suffers from a shortage of high-quality early learning programs and educators. Parents, like me, are often competing with 35 other families for a pre-K slot. And families who cannot afford market rate tuition or live further from providers find themselves at an increased disadvantage. This lack of access to programs, the staffing shortage crisis in the field and the incredible need for these supports create a perfect storm.

For these reasons, it is not surprising to learn that only 34% of students in Kansas City enter school at the proper kindergarten readiness rate. This means the majority of preschool-age students in our city are already behind before they start school. This disparity in learning and critical development is not an easy thing to recover. Kansas City continues to fail our youngest residents, from the failed 2019 pre-K tax to the lack of support and appreciation for early childhood education providers. We need to do better.

These challenges are further exacerbated for children who live in low-income, high-crime areas. They are more likely to face social problems and achievement gaps than their peers from less-violent areas.

For this target population, early childhood education centers are enriching resources that can become a community’s greatest defense against violence.

We have strong foundations to build from, but we aren’t doing enough to reach all parts or the community. Access to high-quality early childhood education not only promotes positive development and academic success for children — it also allows many families, from all walks of life, to promote community development by contributing to the workforce. Essentially, education is core to community infrastructure. All of these reasons can contribute to a reduction of violent crime in Kansas City.

With the desire for Kansas City to be safer, it is imperative that Lucas show as much support for our littlest learners as he does for older students. Only then will we see the lasting change we are all seeking.

Mayor Lucas, please visit your early childhood education providers. Learn from them. Advocate for them. Spread the fire you have for investing in today’s youth equitably. Include everyone in the conversation. Being a new parent, we know you want to make tomorrow brighter for your child and for the children of Kansas City.

The need has never been greater for Lucas to show up and show out for our city’s littlest learners. This can change the tide for Kansas City’s overwhelming rates of violent crime and make it the city we dream it to be: diverse, inclusive, equitable and safe.