Experts gather to discuss this problem:
Today, many of the 3.5 million Black boys under the age of nine will not enter the pipeline to college and successful adulthood. More than 40 percent of Black children are born into poverty. Poor Black children are behind in cognitive development at nine months and further behind at 24 months. By kindergarten, poor Black children have to beat the odds to catch up -- and as test results show, many never do.
Among the solutions offered:
* The link between early brain development and later academic achievement. * The success of early childhood home visiting programs. * Two leading schools with an integrated early learning through third-grade program. * CDF Freedom Schools® program's promising results in stanching summer learning loss which contributes to the achievement gap.