This issue area has aimed its focus on early childhood education programs in Alaska. Current research on head start and reading programs suggest that kids who go to preschool substantially improve their performance in elementary school. Recently much funding has gone into supporting these programs in the United States. There are lots of reasons why early childhood education is important to our community.  There are both short-term and long-term gains from investing our time, money and energy in improving the quality and quantity of education our at risk children are receiving.