A recently released poll from the First Five Years Fund (FFYF) has found that investing in early education is a bipartisan cause, meaning that voters believe that investing in early education is critical to the future success of this country’s children regardless of party affiliation.

The poll found that 88% of all voters surveyed agree that early education is a necessity- not a luxury, and that 89% of likely voters “agree that we need to ensure more children have early learning and socialization experiences during the first five years of life.”

Perhaps one of the poll’s most interesting findings is that many voters believe early education is more important to invest in then higher education.

“Voters prioritize early education over higher education, with 42% saying we should invest more in early education alone, while 33% say we should invest equal amounts in early education and higher education. Only 21% call for more investment in college education,” said FFYF in a statement.

Such findings could have big implications for the on-going presidential campaigns.

“These results are particularly relevant to candidates seeking to connect with voters on family issues, as 84% of voters believe a candidate who supports early childhood education is looking out for working-and middle-class families,” FFYF said.

Today, FFYF is offering a free webinar at 1:30 p.m. EST for those interested in learning more about the third-annual poll’s findings.

FFYF encourages interested individuals to “[j]oin FFYF executive director Kris Perry and the bipartisan pollsters from Public Opinions Strategies (R) and Hart Research (D) for a briefing on this year's results, which show that lawmakers and candidates from both sides of the aisle should be turning their focus to early childhood education and development.”

Registration can be found here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

10/20/2015