Category: Securing Atlanta’s Future

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, […]

By The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy Every child is born ready to learn.  As adults, it’s up to us to realize literacy and justice for all. Simple, everyday opportunities can be used to help build stronger and more capable children. Every child is born with unlimited potential, and every adult can play an […]

By Rebecca Parshall, PhD Childcare challenges. Illiteracy. Innumeracy. Low and inequitable rates of postsecondary attainment. Gaps between workforce supply and demand. Metro Atlanta’s challenges are not unique from the rest of our country, and they’ve only been exacerbated by the pandemic. When we stack them side by side, the disparities and challenges can feel overwhelming. […]

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 […]

By Shara Garwood Sanders, J.D., Champions Club for GIRLS Chair, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta Rebel Girls can change the world in oh so many ways. They start by being who they are despite what others say. And after that is said and done, they question what’s unfair. They have big ideas, fight […]

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 […]

By Ryan Lee-James, PhD, Director of the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy and Laura Bollman, Director of Operations, the Rollins Center. Since the advent of the written word, which created the need for reading, literacy has been wielded as a tool of power and one of oppression.  Who is taught to read – and […]

By Damian Ramsey Laila Williams is a senior at Towers High School in DeKalb County. She is the editor of the school newspaper, the secretary of the student council, and a participant in multiple organizations including the Technology Student Association, Future Business Leaders of America, Young Ladies of Purpose, and College AIM. Laila boasts an […]

By Sharmen Gowens YWCA of Greater Atlanta celebrates 120 years this year. Since 1902, we have been a force for change for women and girls in the metropolitan Atlanta community. Founded on the campus of Spelman College, ours is a history of mobilizing resources to identify community problems, advocate for solutions and create more equitable […]

By David Jernigan, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta  The pandemic phenomenon known as “The Great Resignation” has set the job market on fire. As voluntary turnover continues to spread across the nation, companies struggle to fill vacancies amid competition and retain understaffed talent amid burnouts.  According to the U.S. Bureau […]

By Rebecca Parshall As we conclude yet another semester of school amidst this pandemic, Learn4Life reflected on this year’s bright spots and challenges across metro Atlanta through our annual State of Education report and event. While we believe these resources are helpful in summarizing our region’s educational data and charting a path forward, some of […]

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 […]

The City of Atlanta’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, known as OEDI, is on a mission to leverage the combined power of government, private and non-profit partners, and communities to dismantle systemic inequities and barriers to opportunity. The newly codified executive office is harnessing the power of aligning strong leadership with collaborative action to […]

By Damian Ramsey Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a nationwide drop in the number of students completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and enrolling in postsecondary institutions. Postsecondary enrollment is fundamental to the establishment of a skilled and educated workforce, and a thriving local economy. To gain a […]

Annual Fundraising Gala Raises $930,000+ for Youth Development Organization “I am proud to be a Mexican immigrant, someone who is a persistent, determined, and hardworking human being. In life, I was given the opportunity to grow in a safe space: my home: But later, when I saw the painful reality of my country, I felt […]

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 […]