EARLY CHILDHOOD

The babies and young children of Memphis are the foundation on which the city’s future is built. Research demonstrates that when families thrive, children succeed, and communities flourish. However, many Memphis families with young children struggle to access the support they need to thrive:

• Brain science has taught us that a child’s exposure to stress and trauma, beginning even while a baby is in the womb, creates negative physiological impacts that follow that child for life.  The impact of these Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have created an urgent need to connect mothers and caregivers, beginning in pregnancy, to an array of holistic supports that prevent  costly public interventions later in life. Too few families are able to access these services, however.

• COVID-19 impacted children’s mental health due in part to social isolation and disruptions in routines. The pandemic also exacerbated existing disparities in children’s mental health services. 

• Lack of access to quality child care has a negative impact on family financial stability and more broadly on the local economy. A recent statewide study found that there was an economic loss of  $422.5 million in Shelby County last year due to insufficient child care. 

• All families should have access to high quality affordable Pre-K and early learning programs. While more children of preschool age are being served by expanded pre-K programs  –  which are key to school readiness – current funding levels aren’t sufficient to provide every child with a high-quality pre-K education.

• Success in the early years of school is a primary predictor of lifetime achievement. Too many Memphis children are not achieving grade-level literacy at the end of third grade, a critical inflection point after which students transition to classes where reading is required but no longer taught. Many factors contribute to this, including family challenges (transportation, housing instability, food insecurity, etc.) that impact attendance. 

JW Gibson grew up in Memphis in a tight knit family that was poor but valued education. He attended Memphis City Schools. Early in his career, JW worked with the United Way and observed up close the challenges that families face providing their children with foundational life skills and stability. As an entrepreneur, he understands the importance of job readiness (including literacy) in building a strong workforce for Memphis. Finally, JW’s tenure on the County Commission gave him a deeper understanding of the connection between early childhood education and the ability of Memphis and Shelby County Schools to prepare students for successful lives and careers. 

JW believes that investing in our community’s youngest citizens is critical. In addition to better educational outcomes – such as high school graduation rate – research has shown that early childhood education positively affects incarceration rates, employment and wages, homeownership rates, and other quality of life measures, leveraging and amplifying the impact of funding for these programs. Strengthening Memphis’ early childhood infrastructure  requires a comprehensive approach, built through collaborative partnerships with Shelby County, local nonprofits, the school system, and other stakeholders.