Elected state leaders often prioritize economic prosperity and competitiveness, which provides an important opportunity too rarely taken for investing in early education. In 2003, Pennsylvania recognized the connection between early education and the economy, and smartly embraced early learning as part of its economic prosperity and competitiveness agenda. The work included prioritizing new policies, programs, and investments for early learning (starting with infants and toddlers), and strengthening the fundamental connections between early education and K-12 public education. Since it began in 2003, Pennsylvania's investment in early learning has paid off for children and their families. By recognizing that a focus on improving outcomes for young children supports success for the state in the long term, Pennsylvania used the early learning standards as a tremendous anchor, providing stability and direction for other good initiatives to move forward.