Lt. Governor M. Jodi Rell.
ECE and Economics Forum
Fairfield University School of Management
January 2004
“Connecticut must have a base of skilled, lifelong learners because work matters. We need a base of self-sufficient earners, because economic capacity matters. We need contributing citizens because democracy matters. …We need a cadre of competent parents, because family matters. And we want… [a level of] economic efficiency that is second to none. To achieve these goals, I think that we do have to invest our resources at a point where they provide the greatest return on our investment and I believe that investment has to begin early.
We must focus on three outcomes. First we need our children to be born healthy and stay healthy and safe. We know…that [the] cost is more to remediate health problems from the effects of child abuse, than it is to prevent them. Second, we need all five-year-olds to arrive at the kindergarten door ready for that first classroom experience…because we know that when they are ready…we save thousands of dollars per child per year due to special education costs, grade retention, all things that begin early and often continue throughout the years of schooling. Third, we need all of Connecticut's children to become proficient in the very basic essential skills…reading, writing, and arithmetic, and I'll add technology to that as well. We need them to demonstrate proficiency [on]…the 4th grade Connecticut Mastery Tests.”
