Stay up-to-date on the latest news about early childhood from GEEARS, our early childhood partners across the nation, and from media outlets.
By: Rome News Tribune A position funded in the state budget marks a giant step forward for plans to address trauma in the youngest Georgians. Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, said that — despite major cuts due to the coronavirus-driven economic downturn — there’s a new specialized slot in the Department of Early Care and Learning. […]
By: The New York Times Last week, I received an email from my children’s principal, sharing some of the first details about plans to reopen New York City schools this fall. The message explained that the city’s Department of Education, following federal guidelines, will require each student to have 65 square feet of classroom space. […]
By: The Hill Our nation’s economic recovery depends on strengthening an essential workforce tragically overlooked and under-appreciated for decades: the early learning and childcare educators who enable parents to work and raise healthy, successful children. As people go back to work, our future depends upon caring for the early educators who care for our children […]
By: NPR When Arizona schools shut down in mid-March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Tatiana Laimit, a nurse in Phoenix, knew she needed a backup plan. Laimit is a single mother of a 6-year-old girl and had recently relocated to the area. She didn’t have any friends or family nearby to ask for […]
By: WABE Gov. Brian Kemp has asked all state agencies to trim their budgets. That includes the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), the agency that oversees Georgia’s universal pre-kindergarten program. Although DECAL is state-funded, the pre-K program is not. It’s financed through the Georgia lottery. Still, DECAL submitted several budget scenarios to state […]
By: GEEARS for Saporta Report Imagine a scenario in which the state of Georgia decided that in order to balance the budget, several thousand students could no longer attend third grade. And what if this happened even though the state had a pool of funds ready to be tapped into to avoid these cuts in the first place? Sounds far-fetched, right? But that’s […]
By: USA Today Should we tell the children? How? Those are among the many questions parents are asking after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Many white parents wonder whether to talk with their kids at all, while parents of color swallow their grief and fear to have “the talk” once again. These deaths are part […]
By: The New York Times Suddenly everyone — parents, caregivers, workers, employers, policymakers — is acutely aware of child care’s relationship to American labor markets. The Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, The Washington Post, CNN.com and FoxNews.com have run variations on the headline, “You Can’t Reopen the Economy Without Child Care.” It’s a widespread concern because it’s obviously correct. Millions of Americans have […]
The PAACT Fund for Quality (PAACT FFQ) Stabilization Grant program has deployed $995,500 to 61 child care centers and family child care homes located in the City of Atlanta, supporting more than 4,500 licensed child care slots. Promise All Atlanta Children Thrive (PAACT), a citywide alliance convened by GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, worked with Quality Care for Children to provide targeted support to child […]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported on proposed across-the-board state budget reductions, including a $61 million spending reduction for the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL). Mindy Binderman, Executive Director of GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students issued the following statement in response: “The state should rethink proposed cuts to Georgia’s nationally-recognized Pre-K program that would directly affect children, teachers, and providers across the state. “A cut of $61 million would force DECAL to reduce of Pre-K instructional days […]