Author Archives: GEEARS

By GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students One Saturday morning in November, GEEARS’ Pre-K Recruitment Specialist Dawan Barfield stood before a meeting room at the Dean Rusk YMCA Head Start Academy. With his characteristic warmth and ease, he welcomed tables full of volunteers, who smiled back at him over boxed breakfasts.  “Let’s start […]

By GEEARS As the state agency responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families, the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) is constantly looking for ways to improve the experiences of our state’s youngest students.  In the late 2000s, a series of independent studies found […]

By GEEARS  These days, the topic of mental health seems to be everywhere. In the wake of the pandemic, medical practitioners, educators, and government leaders are all freshly aware of mental health challenges and the imperative that we incorporate their treatment into everyday healthcare.   Yet, the public still has some catching up to do when […]

By GEEARS At the GEEARS Candidate Summit on Supporting Children and Families on October 3rd, several of Georgia’s candidates for statewide office spoke directly to voters, particularly those of us who vote with a keen eye on the issues that affect Georgians ages five and under. The two-hour program at Georgia Public Broadcasting was a […]

We came, we read, and we gave away a lot of books at a lot of enriching programs. The Mayor’s Summer Reading Club’s tenth season ended last month. Let us count the ways the bookish summer thrilled us:  All summer long, we could tell that MSRC books were about more than helping young children fight […]

When the reconciliation package made its way through the House last November, it contained a $400 billion investment in early childhood education. We felt so hopeful at that time.  But the reconciliation package (now known as the Inflation Reduction Act or IRA) was signed into law on August 16th with these critical funds cut completely. […]

 By GEEARS & United Way of Greater Atlanta Last month, quarterback Matt Ryan, a virtual Mayor Andre Dickens, and a host of community members and children cut the ribbon on a new learning space at the Simpson Street Church of Christ. The Simpson Street Learning Space is a free community play and learn program serving […]

By GEEARS Last week, parents and caregivers celebrated as the COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for children under age five. This was a huge and happy step for millions of families.  It’s been a long, long wait for vaccine access for Georgia’s youngest children, during which working caregivers had to continue contending with child care disruptions, […]

By GEEARS  When the infant formula shortage recently hit a crisis point, reports from around the state were chilling.   “We definitely are in a mess in Emanuel County,” an Early Head Start director said. “And it isn’t just one or two types of formula. It is every formula that has a shortage. Our Walmart told […]

By GEEARS  On April 12th, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students hosted a luncheon called Leadership Matters. It was a festive gathering in a sun-drenched banquet hall at the Loudermilk Conference Center. We honored Rep. Katie Dempsey for her visionary legislation on behalf of Georgia’s children and celebrated retiring GEEARS partners, Pam Tatum, […]

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced the City of Atlanta will invest $5 million toward early education services in his State of the City address this morning.  As part of his announcement, he also urged the school system to match this commitment and challenged the private sector to raise $10 million to match the public sector’s […]

In neighborhoods throughout the United States including Georgia, children cannot drink from a faucet or make mudpies outside without a risk of lead poisoning. In some homes across Georgia, children are exposed to dust from chipping, peeling and flaking lead-based paint that results in elevated blood lead levels.   According to the Georgia Department of Public […]

The COVID-19 pandemic and the latest omicron wave have exacerbated many of the longstanding challenges facing the early care and education profession, as child care programs and families alike have wrestled with staffing shortages and temporary closures. But the pandemic has also led many to better appreciate the irreplaceable work conducted each day by Georgia’s […]

Earlier this fall, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and the Children’s Hospital Association declared a national emergency in children’s mental health. As evidence, they cited a CDC report, which found that between March and October 2020, emergency department visits for mental health emergencies rose by 24% for […]

Lead poisoning isn’t just a problem in Flint, Michigan, and toxic lead levels aren’t just found in drinking water. Over the last year, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students has been working with community leaders on the Westside of Atlanta, where lead slag found in a grandmother’s garden soil has prompted the Environmental […]

In July 2021 GEEARS commissioned a statewide survey of 400 Georgia parents with children ages 0-4 that focused on a range of topics including child care arrangements and satisfaction levels, general attitudes toward, perceptions of, and preferences for child care, and financial and employment impacts in relation to child care during these unprecedented times.  Greater […]

There is a workforce crisis. It is a national issue and also one in Georgia. This issue started before the pandemic and has become more amplified over the past 18 months. It has become increasingly difficult to recruit people to careers in early childhood education. Before and during the pandemic, educators report that the primary […]

The opportunity gap in the City of Atlanta starts early. There are more than 30,000 children in Atlanta who are between the ages of birth to five, and their families face housing, health care, and child care costs that are increasingly out of reach. These challenges make it harder for parents to provide the support […]

Brittany Collins, Director, PAACT You have likely heard or used the phrase, “let’s make a pact.” You may have said it to your kids, a friend, or your neighbor. A pact is a promise, a commitment to something that is important to you. In Atlanta, PAACT is the promise of something big… PAACT: Promise All […]

Right now, your friends, your neighbors, and maybe members of your own families are facing decisions about going back to work, changing jobs or even leaving the workforce altogether as they struggle with child care challenges. Studies have shown that this issue is impacting women’s participation in the workforce at an alarming pace. Child care […]