Studies and Research on Early Childhood Education

It is never too early to start your child on the right path.

At CAP, we hope to foster the healthy social and emotional development of every child beginning in the earliest months and years of a child's life.

Recent studies show that early experiences in a child's life play a major role in brain development and that strong relationships between adults and children in the earliest stages have a strong influence on a child's development.

Currently, 90 percent of the children enrolled in our program come from families that live below the federal poverty line. Minority children account for approximately 85 percent of our students. Whenever possible, in addition to our basic curriculum, we provide activities in which these low-income children would not normally have the opportunity to participate due to cost and transportation barriers. We serve 1,320 children through 12 educational centers located in Tulsa County.

According to the Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy, an estimated two-thirds of children in poor urban areas enter kindergarten unprepared to learn, while other studies show that school readiness is a strong early indicator of a child's future academic success and socio-emotional well-being.

A Children's Action Alliance survey found that the benefits of early education for children include:

  • being more likely to graduate from high school
  • higher monthly earnings
  • being less likely to need special education
  • being less likely to receive public assistance
  • being less likely to be arrested
  • being less likely to become a teen mother

Consider the following facts:

  • Families with young children pay about 10% of their earnings for childcare.
  • Childcare Pre-K learning environments can cost more per year than tuition at a state university.
  • Studies have found children in poor quality childcare and early learning environments are often delayed in language and reading skills and are more likely to be aggressive, whereas children in high quality programs demonstrate greater mathematical ability, greater thinking and attention skills, and fewer behavioral problems.