During a conversation moderated by 10 Tampa Bay News, anchor Courtney Robinson and education experts talk about kindergarten readiness.

TAMPA, Fla. — During the webinar “Real Talk On Education: Kindergarten Readiness Can’t Wait,” experts highlighted the challenges for children going into schools without access to Pre-K education.

The famed book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” author Robert Fulghum, celebrates the enduring wisdom of childhood lessons, but what we’ve learned now is that children get more than wisdom in that first year of grade school education.

United Way Suncoast says our parents, our teachers and our society must infuse our preschoolers with lessons about learning, life skills, behavior and the tried-and-true principles of reading, writing and arithmetic before they even reach their first kindergarten classroom.

The gains they make if they arrive prepared on that first day of kindergarten can be life-changing and have long-term impacts. Success in early years of education can transform families and fuel their economic mobility. 

Early education leaders say that if we don’t elevate our preschoolers, Florida could continue to lose $5.4 billion every year in economic value due to working parents having to be away from their jobs while caring for early learners.

You can watch the webinar to learn from experts in education like United Way Suncoast Education’s Vice President Nicole Brown, who shared some thoughts about how her organization works every day to elevate Educational Quality; Molly Grant, the executive director of Florida’s Association of Early Learning Coalitions, talking about early learning in the state.

Talking about local level education, Robinson spoke with Fred Hicks, CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County; Lindsay Carson, CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County; Melissa Cujas, Director of Provider Quality & Child Development from the Manatee ELC; Alison Fraga, CEO of the Sarasota ELC; and Lori McDonnell, Lead- Child Development & Education Services/ Data from the ELC of the Florida Heartland that serves DeSoto County.

Finally, Robinson asks the experts to weigh in on the announcement that New Mexico will become the first state in the nation to guarantee no-cost universal childcare, starting in Nov. 1, and what could be the impact in Florida if the state ever got to the point where it could guarantee no-cost childcare.

You can watch the full webinar here.