Dive Brief:

• Six school districts in Omaha, NE, will test a new early-education reform program next year that is specifically focused on increasing opportunities for low-income students.
• The program, which will be revealed this week, involves home visits, high-quality preschool, consistent curriculum, and support for children in kindergarten through third grade.
• The program is a collaboration between district superintendents, the Learning Community, and the Buffett Early Childhood Institute.

Dive Insight:

The goal of the program is to take all known best practices for early childhood development and apply them in one initiative. 

The Buffett Early Childhood Institute's founding executive director, Sam Meisels, explained that children from low-income families can often miss out on basics like prenatal care, health care, housing, and food, as well as more secondary — but still necessary — influences like quality time with parents and vocabulary infusions. The new initiative aims to tackle each of these issues.

Early childhood development has become increasingly important in recent years, especially due to the large number of research supporting the benefits of early ed interventions on low-income families. In April, researchers from the University of North Carolina found a link between these early ed initiatives and better long-term health. The randomized study, which followed individuals for 35 years, found that underprivileged children receiving early education opportunities prior to five years of age were both more likely to be successful in school and to have better health in their 30s.