HOUSTON -- A new study shows a grim forecast for the dropout rate for Texas students. But some local schools are trying to combat that at an early age, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

Toddlers at the Child Care Council of Greater Houston West End Child Care Center in the Heights may be a long way from caps and gowns, but their teachers said they're already on the path to graduation.

Center Director Barbara Mulugeta said, "We teach children about being independent, making choices. If we don't do that at this stage, no telling what could happen when they get older."

According to a new study by Texas A&M researchers and commissioned by the United Ways of Texas, the forecast for Texas high school graduates is not bright.

The Class of 2012 is on track for a dropout rate of 12 to 22 percent with the number of Hispanic dropouts expected to be three times any other ethnic group.

Also, those dropouts could cost the state $9.6 billion over their lifetime.

United Way of Greater Houston President and CEO Anna Babin said early intervention is the most cost-effective solution.

She explained, "When you invest a dollar in education, you are saving the state and the community significant dollars in lost wages, in welfare benefits and incarceration."

Veronica Jimenez-Davis not only teaches toddlers, but she's also a mom of two.

When her son Lorenzo first went to school, he was having trouble speaking.

"He speaks more clearly now than he did before when we first started him socializing and hanging with little children his age," she said.

Veronica added, "I ask him if he wants to stay home and he says no he wants to go to school, so putting that in them at an early age helps them stay in school longer."

Babin said the key to chipping away at the predicted dropout rate is a continuum of education up to graduation day with parents, teachers and mentors engaged in children's learning.

Babin said, "You're keeping them on a path that says, 'I may be the first one in my family to graduate from high school. Oh, I have hope. I may be the first one in my family to graduate from college.'"

Child care costs are certainly an issue for many parents.

Thanks to support from the United Way, the West End Child Care Center is able to offer a sliding scale for tuition for 75 percent of its parents.