Giving Compass' Take:

• According to the results from a recent poll sampling 1,000 people, 60% of voters have shown support for Congress to take action on the issues in early-childhood education. 

• What are some of the major issues that might garner bipartisan support? In what ways can philanthropy help fill in the gaps where governmental intervention is falling short.

• Read more on why early-childhood education should be a top priority for the new Congress.  

A new poll commissioned by the First Five Years Fund (FFYF) shows the public wants leaders on both sides of the aisle to prioritize early-childhood education, and that voters are eight times more likely to have favorable opinions of their members of Congress if they support programs and funding for early learning.

Conducted shortly after the November mid-term elections by Hart Research Associates, a Democratic polling firm, and Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies, the findings reveal voters are hoping early education will be a topic lawmakers can use to “cut through” some of the partisan gridlock, Sarah Rittling, FFYF's executive director, said during a webinar this week.

“Our new poll results make clear that voters care more about making progress on early learning than they do about political ideology — and they’ll be paying attention to what their lawmakers do over the coming weeks and months,” she said.

The results show 60% of the sample of 1,000 voters want both parties to work together, while less than a fourth said it was more important that members of Congress “stand strong on principle and do not give in to political pressure.”

Read the full article about early-childhood education by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.