Latest from Securing Atlanta’s Future
Quality is the Best Investment—A Head Start Provider’s Perspective on the NPRM
By Belva Dorsey-Mott, CEO, Enrichment Services Program, Inc. Recently, the federal administration released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) containing major potential revisions to the Head Start Program Performance Standards. As CEO of an organization that is funded to serve more than 1,300 Head Start Preschool and Early Head Start children, most of whom live…
What Does It Take to Prepare a Young Person for the Real World?
By Libby Saylor Wright, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta What does it mean to prepare a young person for the real world? It is a question I have been thinking about since joining Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA). The answer is bigger than academic achievement, keeping a…
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Atlanta is currently experiencing a period of incredible growth and transformation. During this time, it is imperative that we remain committed to caring for our most vulnerable citizens, children. Creating and sustaining an environment where children thrive means actively working to support all aspects of their healthy development. Organizations like GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, YWCA, Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, Atlanta Speech School and Learn4Life are dedicated to promoting and investing in programs that provide high-quality early learning, wrap-around supports for children and their families, and community engagement that facilitates the strengthening of Atlanta’s communities, thus securing a successful future for all. Join us weekly as we examine some of the most pressing issues children and families face. We’ll explore potential solutions and discuss steps we are currently taking to address these obstacles
More on Securing Atlanta’s Future
The Quiet Education Crisis – Lack of Public Will
By Dr. Ken Zeff, Executive Director, Learn4Life Though schools in metro Atlanta educate hundreds of thousands of students, employ tens of thousands of adults, and invest billions annually, it is becoming apparent we are becoming a region that does recognize education as a priority. The percentage of Atlantans who said education is the biggest problem…
Your Ticket to Our Annual Luncheon is an Investment in Georgia’s Youngest Children
By Kristin Bernhard, GEEARS CEO GEEARS’ beloved Annual Luncheon happens a bit earlier than usual this year, on September 17th. It probably won’t feel like fall yet, and we’ll be about six weeks shy of the November election. And yet, I know we’ll all be feeling the excitement, and urgency, of the change on the…
Digital Skills Open Doors. Adaptability Keeps Them Open.
By Sooraya Williams, YWCA Greater Atlanta We often talk about preparing people for the future of work as if the challenge is teaching the latest technology. I believe it’s something different. The real challenge is preparing people to keep learning long after today’s technology has changed. Every few years, we’re reminded that the world of…
The Growing Number of Young Georgians Experiencing Homelessness Need our Support
By Greg Barrett, Senior Manager of Leadership & Learning, GEEARS Here’s the thing about the first years of a child’s life—all the stakes are high. This is why GEEARS approaches our early childhood advocacy holistically. Babies and young children can’t fully benefit from high-quality early care and learning if they don’t also have nourishing food…
Alliance Theatre Arts Integration on Cox Campus: Empowering Educators with the Arts
By Chelsea Street, Education Marketing Manager, Alliance Theatre What if educators could stream critically acclaimed theater productions for students and receive arts integration training and resources for free? Thanks to an exciting new partnership between the Alliance Theatre and Cox Campus, these “what-ifs” are becoming a reality. Cox Campus is an innovative learning platform that…
Economic Mobility Is a Team Sport. Is Atlanta Ready to Play?
By Libby Saylor Wright, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta In my last article, I shared a simple belief that young people need more than safe spaces; they need opportunities, experiences, relationships, and preparation for what comes next. This belief has been the hallmark of the work we do at Boys…
The Power of Parents: As you Advocate for Your Child, You Can Make Change for Many
By GEEARS From the moment a baby is born, their parent or caregiver becomes an advocate. They are their child’s interpreter, their guardrails, their voice. When that child has a disability or developmental delay, advocacy can escalate into a full-time job, as much a part of parenting as changing diapers, running warm baths, and snuggling…
When Women Can’t Afford to Work, Atlanta Pays the Price
By Danita V. Knight, President & CEO, YWCA Greater Atlanta For generations, women have navigated the competing demands of work, caregiving, and economic stability. But for many across Atlanta today, that balance is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Atlanta’s economy depends on the labor, leadership, and contributions women provide every day. Yet across our region, more women…
Recent Leadership Forum Proves that Family-Friendly Is Business-Friendly
Last week at the Metro Atlanta Chamber, dozens of business leaders gathered for a Leadership Forum hosted by GEEARS, the Georgia Chamber Foundation, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. The topic of the day: How to Attract and Retain Top Talent through Family-Friendly Policies and HR Best Practices. One of the speakers,…
Today’s Atlanta Student Movement: How Youth Are Impacting the Education Ecosystem of Georgia
By Taylor Hall and Mikayla Johnson Atlanta has long been shaped by young people who refused to accept the conditions of their education and instead worked to transform them. In the 1960s, students across the Atlanta University Center formed what became known as the Atlanta Student Movement, organizing against segregation in schools and throughout the…
Beyond Safe Spaces: Preparing Atlanta’s Youth for Real Opportunity
By Libby Saylor Wright, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta In recent weeks, Atlanta has found itself at the center of a growing conversation around “teen takeovers,” large gatherings of young people that have raised concerns for public safety, community spaces, and youth engagement. It’s easy to focus on behavior. However,…
How Will Georgia’s Newest Laws and Budget Items Affect Families with Young Children? The GEEARS Team Weighs In
With Sine Die in the rearview mirror, we at GEEARS are reflecting upon our state legislature’s 2026 session. An ongoing focus on early literacy and the introduction of the Families First Legislative Initiative by House leadership were indicators that the needs of families with young children were high on our elected officials’ priority lists as…
Women Advocating for Women at the Georgia Capitol
By Elle Knott and Madison Potts-McAdoo, YWCA Greater Atlanta Each March, Women’s History Month reminds us that generations of women have advocated for greater opportunity for women, girls, and families across Georgia. Their perseverance has reshaped workplaces, schools, and communities throughout the state. That legacy is not only something to celebrate — it is a…
Georgia’s Legislature Must Invest in Child Care Infrastructure by Championing SB 554
While GEEARS has often emphasized the importance of highly engaged and well-trained teachers in an early childhood classroom, we also know that learning environments impact the quality of early childhood education. Children thrive when learning takes place in high-quality facilities with literacy-rich classrooms, safe playgrounds, kitchens that can churn out multiple meals each day, and…
Making Math Matter: How Hands-On Learning and Teacher Joy Are Driving Real Gains in Metro Atlanta
By Marsha Francis PhD, Executive Director, STE(A)M Truck Something encouraging is happening in metro Atlanta’s classrooms. After years of pandemic-related setbacks, our students are bouncing back—especially in mathematics. The 2024–25 Georgia Milestones showed math proficiency improved across most grade levels statewide, with students in grades four and eight exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Atlanta Public Schools saw…
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