By David L. Kirp, Illustration: Rachel Levit, The New York Times, December 2, 2021
Inequalities persist across generations — children who grow up in poverty are likelier than their middle-class peers to end up poor and in ill health as adults. But demography isn’t destiny.
Social safety net programs, including quality early education, food stamps and Medicaid, can change the trajectory of children’s lives. What’s even more important, a spate of recent studies shows that the benefits stemming from these programs reverberate into the next generation, breaking the cycle of poverty.
The long-term impact of prekindergarten is well established and widely known. That’s why it’s high on the national political agenda.
Half a century ago, 123 three- and four-year-olds, all of them African American and all from low-income families who lived on the wrong side of the tracks in Ypsilanti, Mich., participated in an experiment. About half attended a pioneering early education program called Perry Preschool, while the control group did not have the same opportunity. Remarkably, researchers have been able to track the lives of most of these children ever since. The fact that lifelong benefits — including greater academic success, higher earnings and better health — began with two years of high-quality preschool has commanded widespread attention.
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