We know that learning begins at birth, and that healthy development greatly impacts children’s ability to learn: Children who are on track in their physical, social and emotional, cognitive, and verbal development are more successful learners from their earliest years, and they are more likely to become proficient readers.

At every age and stage of development, children from low-income families often receive less, and lower-quality, health care and services. As a result, they experience poor health at higher rates than children from higher income families.

These health disparities—differences in health that favor children from more advantaged families—are reflected in lower levels of reading proficiency for children from low-income families.

Read the full article by Becky Miles-Polka about early learning from The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading