Maine’s economy is facing huge challenges in the coming decades. In the future, most of the high-growth jobs will require education beyond high school. Maine lags behind the rest of New England in filling its workforce with college degree holders, and that is the reason we currently rank so low in personal income compared to other states. As chief executive officer of a Maine health care company with nearly 200 employees, I know firsthand how much companies rely on skilled workers to thrive and grow.

Maine must improve education at all levels to prepare its people for our future economic challenges and opportunities, and that begins with early childhood development. The early years matter because early experiences affect the maturing brain’s architecture, establishing either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for later development and behavior. We can maximize children’s development at a lower cost if we invest in quality programs that promote cognitive, physical, social and emotional development.

Unfortunately, Maine does not gather sufficient data to evaluate how well we serve our youngest children. We do know, however, that Maine’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs only serve about one-third of the children eligible. That means we’re missing opportunities to give our most economically challenged children access to programs that have been proven to strengthen their development.

As a member of the Maine Children’s Growth Council and Governor’s Business Roundtable on Early Childhood Investment, I’ve been fortunate to be involved with the policy experts who have identified many other gaps in Maine’s early childhood system. From those efforts, I have come to understand that we have many other opportunities to invest successfully in our youngest children.

Of course, we cannot look at early childhood development in isolation. Education from early childhood through public schools through college and workforce development is a system. At every level, education requires the entire community, from businesses to teachers to child care providers, to work with greater coordination toward the goal of preparing every Mainer for success. Like an orchestra, our system can’t produce a great performance without the right combination of skillful individual performance and coordinated effort toward common goals.

This holistic approach drives the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education’s Prepare Maine initiative. Launched in May by leaders in business, education, law enforcement and early childhood development, the Prepare Maine initiative seeks to focus Mainers on education as the key to our economic development strategy.

The initiative focuses on three clear goals: First, we need our young children to have access to quality programs that strengthen their development; second, we need our schools to prepare all of our children for success in college, work and life; and third, we need as many Mainers as possible earning college degrees and occupational certificates.

MCEE has already distilled core priorities for reform from educational research.

Quality early-learning experiences build a foundation for future development. High standards and personalized learning opportunities create an environment where every student can learn. Effective, knowledgeable, well-trained teachers, supported by strong school leadership, are the most important factor in improving student achievement. Engaged parents, families and communities set expectations for achievement and hold the educational system accountable.

Expanded access to and support for college and workforce training translate all of that work into the skilled workforce our economy needs. Collection and analysis of reliable data tell us what is and isn’t working, with accountability for improvement.

In all of these efforts, efficient and equitable investment of educational resources will ensure that scarce resources focus on maximizing educational opportunity in every community.

These ideas may sound pretty basic, because they are. Communities throughout Maine, the United States, and the world have figured out how to strengthen early childhood development, improve K-12 education, and raise college attainment. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but we do have to make education a priority, pay close attention to what research and data tell us, and engage for the long term to implement educational reforms effectively.

I will continue to focus my efforts on early childhood development — that’s my part in the orchestra — but I understand my work as part of a larger movement to strengthen education at all levels. I urge my fellow Mainers to get involved as well. When we make education Job One, we are positioning Maine for a more successful future.

Jim Clair is CEO of Goold Health Systems, headquartered in Augusta. He is a member of the Maine Children’s Growth Council and served on the governor’s Business Roundtable on Early Childhood Investment.