"Hard" Facts for "Soft" Skills:
Brain Development Is Threatened
- 90% of Brain Development Occurs Before Age 5.
First Five Years Fund, Zero To Three Shows the science of Early Brain Development
- 700 to 1,000 new neural connections form every second during the first few years of life.
- The fewer the opportunities for infants and toddlers to interact with caregivers, the less positive stimulation the brain receives, and the more activated the body’s stress response system learns to become.
(NCDC) Harvard University, Key Concepts Serve and Return.
Our Children's Health is Threatened
Mitigate Family High-Stress Factors vulnerability to substance use, mental illness, and abuse are well documented outcomes that impact caregivers’ ability to be supportive toward children. Families susceptible to high levels of stress and adversity are:
- 19% more likely to exhibit aggression
- 27% more likely to meet diagnostic criteria for anxiety and depression
- 19% more likely to show hyperactivity; and
- 67% of adults with a mental illness make up 30-50% of children who have social emotional challenges.
The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
- There has been a 66% increase in ADHD diagnoses since 2000. In addition, there has been a 21% increase in reported bullying since we began statistically tracking bullying.
Erin Spain (Northwestern University), Diagnosis of ADHD on the Rise
OUR CHILDREN'S academic potential IS THREATENED
“Those who participated in evidence-based SEL programs showed an 11 percentile-point gain in academic achievement compared to students who did not participate in SEL programs. Compared to students who did not participate in SEL programs, students participating in SEL programs also showed improved classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress and depression, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school.”
Durlak A. Durlak, et al., A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions.
10-40% of the youngest children served by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) exhibit challenging behaviors.
Over 65% of students identified with emotional and behavioral challenges drop out of school.
48% of children with behavioral challenges are placed in special education by 4th grade.
Social and behavioral competence in young children predicts academic performance in the 1st grade well above cognitive skills or family background.
Frameworks for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood: From the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National Head Start Association.
“...despite their importance to education, employment, and family life, the major educational and school reforms of the K–12 system over the last few decades have not focused sufficiently on the socio-emotional factors that are crucial to learning. ”
American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution, Opportunity, responsibility, and security.
OUR OUR CHILDREN'S ADULTHOOD IS THREATENED
“[Research] demonstrates the predictive power of teacher-measured prosocial skills independent of child, family, and contextual factors that typically predict adult outcomes.”
Damon E. Jones, et al., The Relationship Between Kindergarten Social Competence and Future Wellness
Return on Investment
“The aggregate result of the analysis showed an average benefit-cost ratio of about 11 to 1 among the six evidence-based SEL interventions studied. This means that, on average, for every $1 invested in SEL programming, there is a return of $11.”
Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education Teachers College, Columbia University,
