AUGUSTA — The Maine State Chamber of Commerce cares deeply about the future of our state and our economy, and we are pleased to see that Maine is making progress in providing quality pre-K learning opportunities. Providing these opportunities to more children through expanded funding is an important first step toward higher high school graduation rates and a stronger workforce.

But there’s more work to do.

New federal grant money has allowed Maine to provide greater access to quality pre-K programs, and everyone – including business leaders – should applaud that expansion of opportunity.

However, even with this new, four-year, $14.8 million grant, Maine will be providing pre-K access to only 42 percent of our eligible 4-year-olds. Over 7,400 out of 13,000 4-year-olds will continue to lack access to these vital opportunities. That level of participation is not good enough for a state that is struggling to meet the demands of a modern, global economy.

If you’re wondering why that matters to our economy, consider this: About 90 percent of brain development occurs in the first five years. Incredibly, children’s brains create over 700 synapses (neural pathways) per second in their earliest years. Disadvantaged children can begin kindergarten already 18 months behind their peers’ learning level and knowing half as many words as their classmates.

Significant research supports the conclusion that quality early childhood education can have a substantial impact on high school graduation for at-risk students.

For example, Michigan’s Great Start Readiness program reported a 35 percent increase in high school graduates among at-risk kids who participated. The Chicago CPC’s preschool program showed a 29 percent increase in high school graduation rates by age 20 among disadvantaged children who participated. The Perry Preschool Program experienced a 44 percent increase in graduation rates among its disadvantaged participants.

This evidence of the impact of quality pre-K on long-term academic achievement is especially important in light of the current performance among Maine students. According to The Nation’s Report Card, only 40 percent of eighth-graders in Maine are proficient in math, just 38 percent are proficient in reading, and a scant 37 percent are proficient in science.

Moreover, fewer than half of Maine students who took the SAT in the 2013-14 school year scored at a proficient level in math, reading or writing. Similarly, fewer than half of students taking the Maine Educational Assessment for Science scored at a proficient level.

That spells trouble for our economy because the vast majority of our jobs now and in the future will require post-secondary education or training. A research analysis by the business leader group ReadyNation estimates that Maine will need about 15,000 additional high-skilled workers to fill future jobs. Post-secondary education will be a prerequisite for 66 percent of the state’s new job openings between 2010 and 2020.

Unfortunately, only 57 percent of working-age Maine residents have that level of education, and Maine currently ranks just 45th out of 50 states in terms of worker productivity.

Without smart investments, this “skills gap” will only grow larger. While post-secondary education and training are critical to future employees’ success in the workforce, high-quality early education is the bridge that can get students from childhood onto the path to college.

But the benefits of early childhood education aren’t limited to long-term outcomes that we’ll have to wait years to enjoy. Our economy will also immediately reap the rewards of an investment in these programs.

Research shows that an investment in increased access to quality early childhood programs serves as an economic stimulus, generating terrific short-run returns on investment: For every $1 we spend on quality early childhood programs in Maine, that investment will create an additional 78 cents, injecting a total of $1.78 into Maine’s economy. This is equal to or even better than returns on investment from other sectors that boost economic growth, such as manufacturing, construction and transportation.

That means that investing in early education is good news for Maine, both today and tomorrow. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce encourages our legislators to work hard to find resources within our state budget to further expand voluntary public pre-K so that more of Maine’s youngest learners can have the high-quality early education opportunities they deserve.

Fully expanding those opportunities isn’t just a social or moral imperative – it’s an economic one.