By Jerel Causey | Managing Director, Accenture | Board Member, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta  I grew up in small country towns in eastern North Carolina without many of the comforts I now try not to take for granted while living in the big city of Atlanta. My parents were the first in […]

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 […]