Radical Idea #1

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Illustration by Steve Noble

"In the first few years of life, there are 700 new neuron connections formed every second. The achievement gap between a child born into extreme poverty and one of the professional class is evident by age 3. Yet public policy doesn't engage the first five years of life. We still think of those years as belonging to the family, though this period is crucially important to the development of our workforce. With $100 million, I would build new centers for preschoolers, infants, and toddlers, with three teachers per classroom. Data show that kids with this level of instruction and focused play enter kindergarten in a position to compete."

-- Daniel Pedersen, president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund

Back to: How to Spend $100 Million to Really Save Education

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A version of this article appears in the February 2011 issue of Fast Company.