“Four years ago, local leaders in Birmingham, Ala., set out to borrow and build upon a proven and successful program related to early-childhood development from Providence, R.I.

“Birmingham’s version, Birmingham Talks, served 1,500 children in its first three years, and saw the greatest gains for children who started out in “low-talk” environments. Now, city leaders are ready to take the program to new heights. By 2025, their goal is for half of all children starting public kindergarten to have benefited from the program. Last October, city leaders committed $1 million to this expansion, Birmingham’s largest-ever investment in early childhood education.”