Abundant evidence has shown that quality early childhood programs generate enormous long-term benefits for young people as they grow to become productive adults, for our economy, and for society. But we don't have to wait 10 or 20 years to see strong returns on our investments in young children. Some programs create real savings in a year or less. Early education also improves third-grade scores, and children who do not read well by the end of 3rd grade are 4 times more likely to drop out. This brief documents three kinds of programs that have both near-term and sustained impact.