Beshear Unveils Early Childhood Development Task Force Report

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has unveiled final recommendations from his Task Force on Early Childhood Development and Education.Beshear says the seeds of intellect are planted very early in children – earlier than elementary school or even kindergarten.“People learn most rapidly during the first three years or so of their lives. That is not just development theory. That is biological fact," he says.Therefore, Beshear says Kentucky must do everything possible to prepare children for a better start in life.“Mentally and physically, they must be ready for the education process stretching in front of them," he says. "That has been the fundamental goal of this task force."Recommendations from the Early Childhood Development and Education Task Force include adoption of a school readiness definition, promotion of a model curriculum framework for pre-schoolers and incentives for participating in pre-school programs. None of the eight proposals require legislative action.