A new bipartisan poll shows that there is an issue that unites all North Carolinians – early childhood education! Majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents support investments in early childhood programs, including expanding access to Smart Start, Pre-K, teacher training, and home visiting programs.
The poll shows that an overwhelming 83% of voters believe that investments in early childhood programs will benefit North Carolina’s economy in the short and long term, and ranked ensuring children get a strong start as a top priority for policymakers, second only to jobs and the economy, and well ahead of reducing the tax burden on families.
Voters are very concerned that children get a strong start in school and see high quality early childhood education as the answer. Three-quarters of state voters support expanding access to the NC Pre-K and Smart Start programs so that more children in the state can benefit from them. In addition, 88% want North Carolina to invest in training and classroom resources for all pre-school and early elementary school teachers.
Increased state and federal investments would mean more children would benefit from high-quality early learning programs, which in turn creates better education, health and economic outcomes for everyone in North Carolina.
The poll was conducted by the bipartisan team of Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research for the First Five Years Fund and the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation. To view a summary report of the poll results, please click here. To help share the news, please click here.
