Investing in high quality early learning and care will lead to a strong workforce today and tomorrow.
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Who We Are

Early Matters is a statewide collaborative of business, civic, education, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders dedicated to economic mobility and prosperity for all Texas families through strategic investments in both policies and practices that support children birth – age 8.

Together, we represent
over 26 %
of all Texas children
Houston

Good Reason Houston

trista@goodreasonhouston.org

goodreasonhouston.org

San Antonio

Early Matters San Antonio

mark.larson@earlymatterssa.org

El Paso

Early Matters El Paso

earlymatterselpaso.net

Greater Austin

Early Matters Greater Austin

cathy.mchorse@uwatx.org

earlymattersgreateraustin.org

Waco

Child Well-Being Movement

haleyoconnell@unitedwaywaco.org

mclennancountychildwellbeing.org

Dallas

Early Matters Dallas

info@earlymattersdallas.org

earlymattersdallas.org

Early Matters Greater Austin
cathy.mchorse@uwatx.org
earlymattersgreateraustin.org

Early Matters Dallas
info@earlymattersdallas.org
earlymattersdallas.org

Early Matters El Paso
earlymatterselpaso.net

Good Reason Houston
trista@goodreasonhouston.org
goodreasonhouston.org

Early Matters San Antonio
mark.larson@earlymatterssa.org

Child Well-Being Movement
haleyoconnell@unitedwaywaco.org
mclennancountychildwellbeing.org

Our Goals

Early Matters works to increase 3rd grade academic outcomes in Texas through:

Quality/Sustainability of Child Care

Families have access to affordable, quality early childhood environments that help their children learn and develop.

Quality of ECE Workforce

A well-trained and well-compensated workforce who have access to professional supports.

Kindergarten Readiness

All children enter kindergarten prepared for school success.

Quality of PK-3rd Public Education

Early elementary classrooms and educators have the support and resources they need to ensure students are performing at grade level by 3rd grade.

Why Early Childhood Education?

Investing in quality early childhood education now is the best way to support existing families in the workforce and ensure a more qualified, higher skilled workforce in the future.

The extraordinary development that occurs from birth to age 5 forms the bedrock for lifelong health, intellectual ability, emotional well-being, and social functioning.

Early Childhood is a smart investment, leading to a 13.7% ROI.

The learning gap is evident by third grade and only 15% of school districts nationwide can produce enough academic growth in a year to close it by high school graduation.

Children in high quality early childhood environments are four times more likely to graduate from high school or college, enabling them to fill our future workforce needs.

Legislative Advocacy

Our coalition is dedicated to influencing state policy that is aligned with our goals. We bring stakeholder voices to the capitol to ensure policy is informed by data and real-world experience.

For the 88th legislative session, we seek:

Ensure local workforce boards have the standards and supports needed to maximize funding, improve transparency, and provide families access to high-quality child care.

  1. Strengthening the childcare workforce
  2. Helping parents get back to work with affordable child care and PreK
  3. Investing in the child care infrastructure in Texas

Learn more from our partners: Download “88th Session Early Childhood Education Legislative Agenda (PDF)”

Contact Your Legislators

Sign up to stay informed with email alerts and templates for contacting your legislators that support our policy priorities.