For years and years, whether I was raising my own son or working as a social worker in the correctional system, I constantly asked myself what I could do to help the person in front of me grow into the best version of themselves. What could I do to make sure they were learning, growing and engaging in a positive way with the world around them?

Now as a senator, I feel that same responsibility for all the kids in our community and around our state. How can I support the children and families in Maine so that kids grow up to be the best they can be?

Luckily, we have lots of research – to go along with everything we know as parents – about how to do just that.

In the past, kindergarten started around age 5, and went for maybe half a day. “School,” as we usually think about it, didn’t begin until age 6 or later. But now we know that about 90 percent of brain development happens in the first five years of a child’s life. Waiting until after then to nurture their growth and learning is a great disservice to the adult they could grow up to be.

Quality pre-K programs do more than just prepare children for kindergarten – they have been shown to increase graduation rates and earning potential later in life, lower the likelihood of getting arrested, and even raise IQs. If there’s a better way to set our kids up for success, I don’t know it yet.

In 2015, Maine received a four-year, $14.8 million grant to expand access to quality pre-K programs. Today, about 42 percent of eligible 4-year-olds are able to attend one of these great preschools. But, with other states and school systems moving toward universal pre-K, I still worry too many Maine kids will get left behind. I’ll keep working to find ways to expand access so none of our kids miss out on a solid educational foundation.

Pre-K can lay the solid foundation needed for children to build successful lives as adults. But it’s not enough all by itself. We need to make sure our students have access to good education throughout their time in our schools. Making sure they have good, experienced teachers is a big part of that.

In the next few years, thousands of experienced Maine teachers will retire, and right now we don’t have enough new teachers in the pipeline to replace them.

The flow of new teachers has slowed to a trickle, in part because of the high rate of burnout and low rate of starting pay. Starting salaries are too low to attract the best and brightest to the profession, and there aren’t enough mentor-supports in place for new teachers when they enter the classroom for the first time. The stress can be overwhelming, and many teachers leave before they even reach their fifth year on the job.

One of the first votes I took as a senator was in favor of LD 1370, “An Act to Improve the Quality of Teachers.” The bill would have raised starting salaries for teachers and ensured they had the tools and supports they needed to make it through those tough first years.

Unfortunately, the bill didn’t pass. But I go back to the time I spent as a single mom and as a social worker. Back then, I didn’t have a choice but to keep going, to keep trying when things didn’t go the way I thought they should.

I know I need to bring that same attitude with me to Augusta to solve these important issues for our students and their education. For our kids’ futures, nothing less will do.

— State Sen. Susan Deschambault of Biddeford represents Senate District 32, which includes Alfred, Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Kennebunkport and Lyman.