A founding principle of our nation asserts that talent, not circumstance, should determine destiny. For the full history of our country, education has been the primary avenue to success and our public system of education has often been "the great equalizer" - the singular institutional construct that has provided the knowledge, skills and foundation to prepare all children for productive careers and successful lives.

Although that avenue of opportunity continues to serve many well, for children without the benefit of resources, that path to success has become more the exception than the rule. For the children of lower income households the struggles begin early, the obstacles are significant and, over time, the gaps in academic performance widen dramatically. Insufficient exposure in early childhood to the essential elements of academic success; the hardships of daily life; the imposition of deflated expectations; and the burden of hopelessness - all have contributed to a national crisis and to a quantifiable portrait of wasted talent and squandered potential. In evidence:

• Low-income children typically enter kindergarten a full year and a half behind in language skills.

• By fourth grade, 86% of low-income children cannot read proficiently and
  74% lack basic mathematical skills.

• Over 50% of all low-income children fail the NAEP (National Assessment
  of Education and Progress) Achievement Test, the "nation's report card."

The gaps in acheivement and opportunity are clear and wide and the responsibility to bridge those gaps must be shared and immediate.

Many things can wait. These children cannot.