It’s early on a hot July Thursday. For the rest of the school day, the children will follow a curriculum that helps to refine motor skills, teach literacy, and enhance social and emotional development.

Overwhelming research supports the idea that early childhood education benefits all kids, especially those at-risk kids who face steeper climbs to success than their more affluent peers. Children who participate in high-quality preschool programs are better prepared for kindergarten than those who do not. Later in life, they’re less likely to fall behind in school, are more likely to earn a diploma, have fewer interactions with police, and earn as much as $2,000 more per month than people who didn’t attend preschool.

That staggering cost is impossible for poor families, and often unattainable for working class families, without help. So Mecklenburg County’s ambitious plan to provide universal access to early childhood education—an initiative gathering momentum this year—has the potential to boost two generations of Charlotteans.

Porter, a middle-aged African American woman who grew up in Shelby and started her career for a ministry, pauses in the hallway. She motions to the roomful of children, all of whom come from low-income homes. “There’s so much joy in there,” she says.

“This is not something the county can do on its own,” Diorio says. “We think there’s other folks that need to participate.”

Read the full article about access to high-quality pre-school by Adam Rhew at Charlotte Magazine.