To Compete, Our Kids Need to Start Early and Learn Longer

October 9, 2012 | Huffington Post

by Bill de Blasio

I was there on September 5 at the Democratic National Convention for one of the most powerful moments of this presidential campaign, when my former boss Bill Clinton exhorted the crowd and the nation to a vision of shared prosperity and real investment in our future.

But getting there is going to take bold steps -- something our competitors around the world are taking head-on. And we have to be willing to invest the resources to make those steps a reality today.

Our greatest strength here in New York City has always been our workforce -- among the most productive in the world. But the jobs of tomorrow will require ever more skill and education, and we have to get serious about what it will take to prepare our kids to fill them.

We can take this challenge head-on, but it means we need a new strategy that starts kids learning sooner, and keeps them learning longer.

It begins with providing every child with quality early education.

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