Governors recognize that promoting school readiness is a key strategy for preventing school failure and subsequent costs to society in the form of remedial education services, health and social services, criminal justice services, and lost tax revenue. Supporting the readiness of young children at risk for school failure is critical to the nation's future. Although private resources are not intended to supplant public investment in the healthy development and school readiness of young children, they can be used to spur action and seed innovation across the state. Partnerships can support a cohesive early childhood system at the state and local levels, improve the quality and availability of programs and services, and cultivate a new cadre of champions to support early childhood initiatives. Governors can draw on other states' experiences and lessons learned to inform their leadership and design of a partnership that would best serve their state's needs. Public-private partnerships are an important strategy for building a strong foundation of services and supports for young children to help ensure their healthy development and school readiness. An appendix includes Profiles of Early Childhood Public-Private Partnerships for Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. (Contains 59 endnotes.) [This report was written with Anne Lovejoy and Joan Lombardi.]