The latest educational research indicates it's never too early to start our kids down the right educational path.

Studies show that getting an early jump, in fact, getting a very early jump, can pay off later with better grades, more satisfying jobs, higher incomes and can even help keep our children out of jail.

News Center 23's Na'Tassia Finley explains.

Reading is key.

Experts say early childhood education is fundamental in building our childrens' future and maybe even in predicting the outcome of whether this generation will end up productive members of society or struggling to get by.

Here in Cameron County, we have the second highest unemployment rate in the state of Texas at roughly eleven-percent.

So you may be wondering what does that have to do with early childhood education? According to the Texas School Readiness program - everything!

"At that time we were actually working with Workforce Solutions Cameron and that was the agency that really started to look at, "What's going on with our future workforce?, " says Patricia Flores-Cantu, Texas School Readiness, coordinator.

That was about eight years ago and at that time, research showed the significant correlation between early childhood education and the impact it has on the workforce down the line.

Texas Workforce Solutions Cameron County and the Texas School Readiness program, a program that teaches teachers how to teach and provides them with resources, teamed up to tackle the problem.

It was once thought that making sure a student was on par with their peers and in the right mindset for life after high school, by eighth grade, was a good age developmentally, but research has shown that's just way too late. Flores-Cantu says between three and four years old is the target time to begin educating our little scholars.

So what are some of the consequences if a student falls behind before they even reach kindergarten? Some of these answers may surprise you.

"If by the time they leave pre-k and by the time they leave kindergarten, which is a year from the point they leave us, if they're not reading, they're already falling behind," says Flores-Cantu.

The Texas School Readiness program works with nearly 40 Texas Rising Stars programs across Cameron County. These are certified daycares that actually have state adopted curriculum and lesson plans.

Teachers at Texas Rising Stars certified daycares meet beyond just the basic care requirements. Teachers aren't just there to babysit your kid, but to educate your child. These teachers focus in on letter knowledge, phonological awareness and writing, among other key areas.

"Children at three and four years old need to really fine tune their ear and be able to manipulate and play with words before they actually, or with sounds, before they can actually start reading,” says Flores-Cantu.

If a child is not reading or on the verge of, this could be an indicator, in some, but not all children, that learning problems may continue to follow them through the remainder of their elementary, middle school and high school years.

"Our biggest problem here is that they are out of high school and still having to take remedial courses when they go to college, still having problems reading," says Liliana Lugo, Texas Workforce Commission, childcare specialist.

Even with higher education, if key skills, like reading, aren't mastered, Lugo says it can still dramatically hurt them and Cameron County as a whole in terms of our qualified workforce.

But perhaps the most alarming piece of information...

"A couple of months ago when we were working on a project, she had read research, that they would rate how many beds in jail they needed based on how many children had not passed the TAKS in third grade."

As of now there are about twenty-five hundred children in the Cameron County area enrolled in one of these Texas Rising Stars certified daycares. It's daycares like this, that are preparing and molding these little minds for a world they're not even aware is out there, just yet.

"Something in their state of mind, since they were little, saying we're going to go to college and we're going to do this."

"I want to be a doctor."
"Police."
"Police officer."
"I want to build houses and paint them," say several four year olds at a Texas Rising Star certified daycare.

"And break that cycle of being that 50-percent dropout rate that we have right now," adds Lugo.

Both organizations stress the importance of parents choosing quality childcare for their little ones.

"They already have so many things against them; education doesn't have to be one of them. We can actually give them a way out," says Flores-Cantu.

If your child's daycare is "Texas Rising Stars" certified, there should be a seal of approval on the door.