Category: Securing Atlanta’s Future

On Thursday, November 21st, GEEARS will host our annual luncheon and our headliner is super exciting: Former Falcons quarterback and children’s advocate, Matt Ryan. Here are three reasons you should snag your ticket today!   Beyond all these enticements, purchasing a ticket or table supports GEEARS’ work to ensure that every child in Georgia has the […]

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time when communities come together to raise awareness about the disease and advocate for life-saving screenings and treatment. In Georgia, breast cancer remains a serious concern. According to recent data from the American Cancer Society, nearly 9,800 women in the state of Georgia are estimated to be diagnosed […]

By Lisa Liedke and Meredith MacKenzie Imagine all children entering kindergarten, having been immersed in words, stories, and songs from the very start of life. At Wellstar, we believe every child deserves this foundation. That’s why we are integrating early healthy brain development, language acquisition, and literacy fundamentals to ensure that every child can find […]

Everyone goes to the voting booth with their own list of priorities. In our polling, we at GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students have found that an overwhelming number of Georgia voters care deeply about early childhood issues and choose their candidates with those issues in mind.  Voters may wonder if and how […]

BY Carl Patten II, Vice President of Information Technology, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta & Mat Mathews, Chief Technology Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of America Recently, a 12-year-old teen in Georgia made national news after disappearing from her driveway. The teen was eventually located in Ohio.[1]Reading stories such as the 12-year-old’s incident […]

This summer, YWCA USA conducted a national survey of women voters to learn about one critical topic: Why Women Vote. This aptly named YWomenVote survey confirmed that women across the country are motivated to make their voices heard this election. Respondents identified that women’s economic security and empowerment, the impact of domestic violence and gender […]

By GEEARS Have you ever heard someone say, “Why take your toddler on vacation when they won’t remember it?”    Given the cost of a lot of adventures, it’s a fair question. But we have a great answer, which also applies to more accessible outings like a sports game, a birthday party, or our favorite, […]

The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy, a program of the Atlanta Speech School, and its free online professional development platform, Cox Campus, have been serving Atlanta and communities far beyond Georgia for the past two decades. Founded on the purpose of breaking the cycle of illiteracy for children whose families have experienced generational denied […]

By Leslie Hazle Bussey, Ph.D. There are two ways to think about teacher retention. One, as the word “retain” implies, is to accept as natural and unchangeable that teachers will want to leave, while making it difficult for them to do so. Another approach is best illustrated by the attracting force that is a fire […]

Last year, GEEARS launched the Annual Early Childhood Checkup, a quick, digestible reference to help policymakers, community leaders, and others measure statewide progress on key early childhood indicators. The Checkup considers three broad categories that touch upon a young child’s life: Early Learning, Health, and Family Supports. And since no little ones exist outside of […]

By David Jernigan, CEO & President, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta Imagine yourself at your neighborhood department store, shopping for a few essentials. You find a couple of great deals on clothes and home items, and with your basket full, you head to the register. The cashier rings up your purchases and then […]

The 2023-2024 school year has finished, and YWCA Greater Atlanta celebrates the achievements and advancements of our Early Learning Academy. At the heart of YWCA Atlanta’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women is ensuring children have access to quality education and childcare while also empowering teachers in our Early Learning Program through professional development […]

The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care has been staffed! The bipartisan septet of legislators chaired by Senator Brian Strickland includes several parents of young children and will spend the rest of 2024 delving into our state’s challenging child care landscape.  But wait a minute, GEEARS, we can hear you thinking. […]

In January 2022, Atlanta’s new Mayor Andre Dickens shared his vision to make Atlanta the best place to raise a child. This commitment to children and families in the city was especially bold, given the well-documented disparities in educational and economic access among children born in the city and resulting tragically low rates of social […]

By Damian Ramsey, MSW The long awaited financial aid overhaul that took place this year has been coined the “FAFSA Fiasco.” Revamped for the first time in 40 years, the new FAFSA was supposed to simplify what has historically been an overly complicated process to secure aid to pay for college (2-year, 4-year, or technical […]

Summer child care can be daunting What’s the most challenging part of being a working parent or caregiver? Many will tell you—child care! Finding high-quality, accessible care, snagging a spot in that program, and paying for it—parents have told GEEARS that such tasks can pervade their parenting and their careers. Sometimes child care even changes […]

By David Jernigan, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta We’ve all heard stories of city kids arriving at overnight camp, apprehensive about the wilderness and none too thrilled to disconnect from their devices. By the end of camp, those same kids are gazing at stars with wonder and tranquility, swapping stories […]

YWCA Greater Atlanta is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. The association has four core programs, curated to ensure positive change for women and their families in the Atlanta community. One of YWCA Greater Atlanta’s programs is the Digital Skills Academy (DSA), aimed at […]

The Mayor’s Summer Reading Club—the beloved GEEARS initiative that fosters early literacy with partner-led programming and free, original books—is entering its 12th season!  The central goal of the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club is to create an environment in the City of Atlanta which supports brain development, early literacy, and learning by encouraging family engagement throughout […]

The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy (Rollins) is partnering with state, regional and local agencies, districts, schools, businesses, and nonprofits to advance universal literacy from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy when auditory channels are forming through early learning, literacy, and building the foundations for deep reading brain construction.   These partnerships expand on Rollins’ work […]