It is estimated that approximately 20,000 additional babies will be born in Georgia each year, given recent changes in state and federal law – making the need for Georgia to support its babies and families even more urgent. Yet, many Georgia families (one in three) struggle to afford diapers, a basic need that keeps young […]
GEEARS staff have presented at a range of local and national conferences and published extensively about early childhood issues in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and local and national media outlets, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Education Week, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Georgia Health News, Journal of the National Medical Association, Reading and Writing, Division for Early Childhood, American Educational Research Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Society for Research in Child Development, and many others.
Check out some of GEEARS’ original publications below. Beyond the resources/publications listed below, be sure to check out the GEEARS Readiness Radar, a suite of data and mapping tools that allows users to explore a range of data relevant to early childhood and school readiness in Georgia.
The COVID-19 pandemic confronted an already fragile early childhood sector with new and pressing challenges, which have often been felt most acutely by early childhood educators. In the last two-and-a-half years, the early childhood education sector has struggled to recruit and retain its workforce. While most other professions have recently experienced a robust recovery in […]
In the fall of 2021, GEEARS commissioned a series of four focus groups with parents of young children from across Georgia. Click here to read the full report from the focus groups. These focus groups followed the statewide survey of working parents and caregivers from the fall of 2021. The report shares the experiences of parents […]
Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting connects parents and caregivers—including expectant parents of young children with a trained professional who supports them during the early stages of raising a family. Extra support during the first years of a child’s life, when the brain develops most rapidly, plays a key role in ensuring that children experience the types […]
In July 2021, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students commissioned a statewide survey of 400 Georgia parents with children ages 0-4 that focused on a range of topics including childcare arrangements and satisfaction levels, general attitudes toward, perceptions of, and preferences for child care, and financial and employment impacts in relation to child […]
This two-page brief describes how child care challenges can prove disruptive, not only to parents’ workforce participation, but to their enrollment in postsecondary and work training programs as well. By adopting a two-generation approach—considering the workforce of today and tomorrow—Georgia’s colleges and universities can move the needle for the state’s families.
Since its inception, Head Start has recognized the impact family well-being has on child development and prioritized support for families and children. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many challenges for Head Start families – making the program’s role even more critical. GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students and Voices for Georgia’s Children (Voices), […]
In the fall of 2020, PAACT partnered with Civic Dinners to launch a community conversation for parents and caregivers to learn more by directly from Atlanta families. “Parenting in a Pandemic” was a conversation that brought together a community of mutual support to discuss both the challenges and joys of parenting during COVD-19. PAACT and […]
Download our research brief on two recent studies that, taken together, provide valuable insight into Georgia’s Pre-K Program and the trajectory of children’s learning experiences during early schooling. The brief that follows outlines key findings from these studies.
Download our two-page brief to learn more about our state’s early care and education landscape. Georgia’s young children are educated and cared for in a variety of programs and settings, ranging from child care centers to family child care homes to relative-provided care to nannies or babysitters. The state’s early care and education landscape is […]