North Carolina’s programs for children younger than age 5 are a national model, said Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton told educators at summit on early childhood education Tuesday.

Dalton was the keynote speaker for “Smart Investing: Communities Thrive When Children Thrive,” a summit held at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church for more than 200 educators from eastern North Carolina who have developed priorities for educating young children.

“There is study after study that shows that this is one of the best investments that can be made,” Dalton said of the state’s Smart Start and More at Four programs.

“Common sense says that the better start you have, the better chance you have for success in later life.”

Dalton said the programs have been shown to boost students’ language skills, reading achievement and college and high school completion. The programs are an investment that pay off with fewer people in jail, less child abuse and a better work force, he said.

“I believe that an investment in early childhood education is ultimately an investment in economic growth for our state and in our future,” Dalton said.

Dalton is the initiative’s spokesperson and champions it across the state.

He said the programs account for 47,000 jobs in North Carolina and represent a $1.7 billion industry.

He compared the programs to what announcers were saying at the Winter Olympic Games about various events.

“It is important to have a good start — those with a late start in adverse conditions did not have a chance at a medal,” he said.

The summit, along with similar summits planned in Asheville on Thursday and in Durham on Tuesday, will create priorities to take the Smart Start programs into the future.

Smart Start began in North Carolina with 12 pioneer programs representing 18 counties with a $20 million appropriation from the General Assembly.

The program now receives funding in excess of $200 million from the state as well as grants from various organizations and national companies. There are 77 local partnerships across the state that administer funding for the pre-K programs.

Contact Josh Humphries at jhumphries@reflector.com or (252) 329-9565.