Michigan Business Leaders Say Early Childhood Education Matters to Economic Growth

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May 30, 2012, 10:30 ET

A hundred business leaders statewide join forces to boost school readiness programs to ensure quality workforce

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich., May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- A coalition of 100 business leaders from across the state is calling for greatly intensified state focus on early childhood education programs and strategy to ensure Michigan's children are prepared to compete in the 21st century global economy. The group, Children's Leadership Council of Michigan, made the announcement today at the Mackinac Policy Conference, where the members urged fellow business leaders and entrepreneurs to commit to support the Michigan Early Childhood Business Plan.

The plan calls on state policymakers and local school officials to:

Offer publicly funded preschool to all 4-year-olds who are eligible – Currently, Michigan has slots for only about half of the eligible 4-year olds. Approximately 38,000 4-year-olds are shut out of preschool every year.
Strengthen efforts to assure the healthy growth of 0 to 3-year-olds – The first 1,000 days are critical to a child's brain development. Right from birth, children must be raised by parents and other caregivers who have the supports they need to be their children's first and best teachers. To this end, the members support expansion of evidence-based programs for 0 to 3-year-olds and their families, particularly home visiting, for at-risk infants and toddlers.

The Children's Leadership Council of Michigan was founded by 16 business leaders from across the state who believe strongly in the value and necessity of investment in early childhood. It is co-chaired by Doug Luciani, president and CEO, Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce, and Debbie Dingell, president, d2 Strategies.

"The goal of the council's initiative is to encourage the State of Michigan to act with new commitment to ensure that all Michigan children arrive at school ready to succeed," said Doug Luciani, co-chair of the Children's Leadership Council of Michigan, and president and CEO of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce. "We are calling on the State to offer publicly funded preschool to all 4-year-olds who are eligible and to strengthen efforts to assure the healthy growth of 0 to 3-year-olds."

State business leaders who have signed the council's new Michigan Early Childhood Business Plan include the executives of the Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing regional chambers of commerce, the Small Business Association of Michigan, Business Leaders for Michigan, executives from a range of banking, accounting and financial institutions, as well as executives from utilities, publishing, legal professions, real estate, health care, manufacturing and other industries.

The Children's Leadership Council of Michigan call-to-action is supported by solid evidence of the importance of early childhood education:

Many of Michigan's children are not on this clear path to prosperity. Seven out of 10 fourth graders are not proficient readers.
One out of three kindergartners is not fully prepared to learn when entering school.
For every $1 invested in high-quality pre-school and evidenced-based early childhood programs, Michigan taxpayers save several dollars in reduced costs for welfare, criminal justice, grade repetition for students and other savings.
A high-quality, globally competitive workforce depends on talented learners. The first key marker of student success is grade-school reading proficiency – and grade schoolers become proficient readers if they enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation hosted a panel discussion at the Mackinac Policy Conference that presented the business case for intensified preschool and other early childhood programs that will turn Michigan into a national leader for school readiness.

"At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we believe that an investment in our children is an investment in our future," said Sterling Speirn, president and CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation. "Supporting children from an early age is critically important to creating conditions that prepare children for long-term success and independence."

The full list of business groups and leaders who have endorsed the Michigan Early Childhood Business Plan:

Mark Alley, Emergent Bio Solutions
Tony Anderson, Cherryland Electric Cooperative
Andrew Appleby, General Sports
Jon Asiala, Blue Water Transportation, Inc.
Rick Baker, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
David Baker Lewis, Lewis & Munday, P.C.
James R. Baker, Jr., Nano Bio
Glenn P. Barba, Consumers Energy
Sandy Baruah, Detroit Regional Chamber
Ronald W. Beebe, Euclid Industries, Inc.
Allison Beers, Events North
Terry L. Beia, Grand Traverse Properties LLC
Erin Bemis, Charlevoix Chamber of Commerce
Jeff Bergeron, Ernst & Young, Detroit Office
Beth Brockman, Wells Fargo
Denise Busley, Grand Traverse Pie Company
Lew Chamberlin, West Michigan Whitecaps
Matt Clayson, Detroit Creative Corridor Center
Amy Clickner, Lake Superior Community Partnership
Howard Cohodas
Rob Collier, Council of Michigan Foundations
James Colman, The Acme Group
Carol Conn, Capital Consultants
Patricia Convery, Howell Area Chamber of Commerce
Melissa D. Cragg, The Fisher Group
Paula Cunningham, Capitol National Bank
Tim Daman, Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce
Mark Davidoff, Deloitte
Vernice Davis Anthony, V Anthony & Associates LLC
Kellie Dean, Dean Transportation
Richard L. Devore, PNC Financial Services Group
Fred Dillingham, Livingston County Economic Development Commission
Paul R. Dimond, McKinley
Debbie Dingell, d2 Strategies
Diane Durance, Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest
Tim Dutmers, Venturi
Scott Eisenberg, Amherst Partners, LLC
David Fischer, The Surburban Collection
Phillip Wm. Fisher, The Fisher Group
David Foltyn, Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
Linda D. Forte, Comerica Bank
Rob Fowler, Small Business Association of Michigan
Matt Friedman, Tanner Friedman
Joe Gaglio, Deloitte
Alan Gatlin, ETX, Inc.
Ralph J. Gerson, Guardian Industries Corp.
Allan Gilmour, Wayne State University
Alfred R. Glancy III, Unico Investment Group, LLC
Larry Good, Corporation For A Skilled Workforce
Beverly Hall Burns, Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone P.L.C.
Steve Hamp, Michigan Educational Excellence Foundation
Paul Hillegonds, DTE Energy Company
Michele Hodges, Troy Chamber of Commerce
Gilda Jacobs, Michigan League for Human Services
Mike Jandernoa, Bridge Street Capital
Sue Jandernoa
Mark Jannott, GreenLeaf Trust
Ron Kitchens, Southwest Michigan First
Marie Klopf, iSupplyCon
Joe Kostrzewa, Federated Oil & Gas Properties, Inc.
Andy Kotarba, Dewpoint
Gordon Krater, Plante Moran
Olivia Lagina
Don LeDuc, Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Fred Leeb, Fred Leeb & Associates, LLC
F. Thomas Lewand, Bodman PLC
Doug Luciani, Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce
Richard A. Manoogian, Masco Corporation
Florine Mark, The WW Group, Inc.
Alyssa Martina, Metro Parent Publishing Group
Patricia Maryland, St John Providence Health System and Michigan Market Leader, Ascension Health
William Milliken, Former Governor
Chandra Moore, coG-studio
Leslie Murphy, Murphy Consulting, Inc.
Dan Musser III, Grand Hotel
Edward O'Keefe, Jr., OKeefe Center - Ltd Emerald Wine Systems
David K. Page, Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
Tom Porter, Trillium Ventures, LLC
Phil Power, The Center for Michigan
Gary Ran, Telemus Capital Partners LLC
Colleen Robar, Women's Caring Program
Ken Rogers, Automation Alley
Kelly Rossman-McKinney, Truscott Rossman
Doug Rothwell, Business Leaders for Michigan
Tim Salisbury, PNC Bank
Steward Sandstrom, Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce
Nancy Schlichting, Henry Ford Health System
Bob Skandalaris, Quantum Ventures of Michigan, LLC
Bernie Smilovitz, WDIV-TV Detroit
Ben Smith, Plante Moran CRESA
Brig Sorber, Two Men and a Truck Int.
Dennis A. Swan, Sparrow Health System
John E. Sztykiel, Spartan Motors Inc.
Duane L. Tarnacki, Clark Hill PLC
Gail Torreano, AT&T/SBC Michigan - (Retired)
Reginald M. Turner, Clark Hill PLC
Amanda VanDusen, Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone PLC
Carol Walters, Walters & Associates, Inc.
Sean Welsh, PNC Financial Services Group
Ken Whipple, Korn/Ferry International