Digging deep
Equipping our children for better futures matters. That’s why The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has closely followed the way Georgia helps prepare tots for school, including this article on how four regions will benefit from some Race to the Top grant money. Find more stories about education on myajc.com.
Four regions in Georgia will receive resources to provide more and better child care options to families as early as this fall.
The Early Education Empowerment Zones haven’t been chosen yet, but 11 regions around the state are in the running to receive funding from a $51.7 million Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant. It was awarded to the governor’s office in December and is aimed at ensuring children up to five years old can eventually meet third-grade reading standards.
“Third-grade reading level contributes to a lot of risk factors,” said Kristin Bernhard, deputy commissioner for system reform at Georgia’s Department for Early Care and Learning (DECAL), which is spearheading the grant projects. “It’s hard to be a contributing citizen when you don’t have that foundation.”
To build that foundation, the grant provides money for the zones, as well as the entire state, to increase the number of high-quality child care providers.
All child care providers are required to be licensed based on health and safety standards. Providers that adhere to standards above and beyond the licensing standards receive a one- to three-star rating in a system called Quality Rated. The more stars, the higher the quality of the educational experience and atmosphere.
Providers could receive grant money to buy the materials they need to become Quality Rated, teachers could receive scholarships to attend training or earn higher degrees, and families who qualify for child care subsidies could receive reduced copays to enroll their children in higher quality programs.
DECAL also hopes to use tax incentives, such as building grants or low interest loans, to lure Quality Rated providers to the empowerment zones.
Each zone will also be guaranteed some summer transition classrooms, where children about to enter kindergarten can receive additional instruction to be on the same level as their peers.
Each zone will also receive funding for a home visiting program, in which a parent educator visits the home of a participating family and teaches parents how to help their children grow and learn. The home visitor can also refer parents to health care providers, connect them with other families and refer them to community support resources.
Each zone will also receive funds to pay for a full-time DECAL employee to coordinate and promote all of the projects.
The 11 potential zones were chosen based on data such as poverty rates, percentages of children who didn’t meet third-grade reading standards, percentages of births to mothers without high school diplomas, premature birth rates and percentages of children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch or are not native English speakers.
These factors, according to Bernhard, “create a difficult set of circumstances for children to be successful in that birth-through-five space.”
Bernhard and DECAL are visiting the regions this summer and hope to choose the four zones by September.
DECAL will visit Clayton County, one of the potential zones, Aug. 22.
Representatives from local businesses, city government, area colleges and the community will talk about why Clayton could be a successful empowerment zone.
“There are high needs in the community, and they’re under-served. The empowerment zones could help speak towards that,” said Sakinah Harrison, senior director of education for United Way of Greater Atlanta.
Harrison and others at United Way are preparing the community for the site visit.
Harrison said this also could be an opportunity for Clayton to make better use of early childhood resources already in place.
“We are very excited to be able to partner to convene this wide range of folks to come together and talk about the needs and how we can support the county,” she said.
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