GEORGIA’S PRE-K PROGRAM
Bright from the Start:
Georgia Department
of Early Care and Learning
Marsha H. Moore, Commissioner
Target Population
Georgia’s Pre-K Program is universal,
i.e., it is open to all four year olds
regardless of family income.
In 2005-2006 Georgia’s Pre-K
Program:
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Served over 74,000 children
In all 159 counties in Georgia
Budget of $290M
Cost per child of $3,919
Unique Features of Georgia’s
Pre-K Program
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Lottery funds provide dedicated monies
Successful public/private partnership
Voluntary
180 days, 6.5 hours per day
Goal: to prepare children for success in
school
• Family support services
• Interagency collaboration to coordinate
services at community level
Benefits of Universal Access
• Stigma of “at risk” program removed
• More diversified student population
enriches learning experience for all
• Quality of Pre-K classes trickles down to
infant and toddler classes in private sector
• Increased school readiness for all children
• More likely to receive greater public
support so that programs are of higher
quality and reach more children
Challenges of Universal Access
• Funding in unstable economy
• Ensuring access in all areas
• Oversight and program quality
Evaluation
Georgia Early Childhood Study
Study Measured:
• Direct Assessments
– Beginning of preschool
– End of preschool
– Beginning of kindergarten
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Teacher Ratings(preschool and kindergarten
Surveys of teachers
Surveys of parents’ attitudes and involvement
Observations of classroom activities
Georgia Pre-K Performance
Children participating in Georgia Pre-K gained:
• on national norms for solving math problems;
for letter and word recognition; and for
vocabulary;
• on understanding printed material and story
comprehension;
• mastery of one additional basic skill, either
naming numbers, naming colors, or counting, on
average
Reducing Initial Gaps
• Consistent high quality of Georgia’s Pre-K
Program is a primary factor that reduces
the initial gap between private
preschoolers and lottery funded Pre-K by
the beginning of kindergarten
• Developmental outcomes of all four-years
olds were raised by high quality
preschool experiences
Original Governance of Program
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Independent state agency
Executive director appointed by Governor
Reported directly to Governor
Operated without a Board of Directors
Independent of state department of
education
• Used volunteer advisory groups
Advantages of Governance
Structure
• Allowed focus to remain on early education
• Fast response to issues
• Eliminated some bureaucracy associated with
large state agency
• Able to treat public and private providers as
independent contractors
• Equalized footing between public and private
providers
• Funding formula flexibility
Challenges of the
Governance Structure
• Political pressures
• Viewed as “not real school”
• Perception that public and private Pre-K
programs are different
• School systems involved with two state
agencies (DOE & Bright from the Start)
• Perceived as having too much
autonomy
New Governance Structure
• Bright from the Start: Georgia Department
of Early Care and Learning
• Independent agency separate from Georgia
DOE
• Commissioner appointed by Governor
• Governing Board of Directors and Advisory
Board
• Responsible for creating and maintaining
comprehensive system of early care and
education
• Legislatively identified as a DOE
Bright from the Start: Georgia
Department of Early Care and Learning
Created July 1, 2004 to:
• Create and sustain a system of early care and
education
• Reduce bureaucracy
• Eliminate duplication of services
• Blend resources
• Coordinate efforts between early childhood
advocates and providers
Bright from the Start,
continued
Created by merging:
• Office of School Readiness
• Child Care Licensing Division of the
Office of Regulatory Services
• Georgia Child Care Council
• Even Start Family Literacy Program
• Head Start State Collaboration Office
Advantages of
New Governance Structure
• Legitimizes relationship between child care
and education
• Raises awareness that quality early care is a
critical component of the education
continuum
• Allows for more extensive private involvement
in the early education process
• More funding flexibility
Challenges of
New Governance Structure
• Changing culture
Public
Parents
Providers
Policymakers
• Increased need for collaborations
• Creating and supporting local service
hubs
Meeting the Challenges
of the New Governance Structure
• Building capacities of local resource and
referral agencies
• Creating and participating in more community
collaboratives
• Forming and utilizing ad hoc advisory
committees
• Aligning standards
• Increasing public relations/marketing efforts
• Creating more opportunities for parent
involvement
Critical Success Factors
• Political
• Programmatic
• Administrative
• Other
Political Critical Success Factors
• Direct involvement of the Governor
• Adequate funding
• Integrated program into existing child care
and education communities
• Universal; not another “at risk” program
• Public/private partnership
• Choice (providers AND parents)
Programmatic Critical Success Factors
• Emphasize education, not day care
• Specify school readiness and learning goals
• Educate providers about appropriate Pre-K
and early child care instruction
• Operate on public school calendar
• Provide family support services
• Provide intensive teacher training
• Encourage parent involvement
• Align policies with national organizations:
NGA, Zero to Three, NAEYC
Administrative Critical
Success Factors
• Implement a uniform financial, payment, and
reporting system for all providers
• Develop and disseminate funding levels
• Develop and disseminate processes for
awarding classes
• Establish minimum lead teacher salaries
• Operate as a “business,” not as a state
bureaucracy
• Require quality – internally and externally
Other Critical Success Factors
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Listen to customers
Listen to critics
Don’t let semantics become a barrier
Publicize activities and
accomplishments
• Cultivate meaningful collaborations
For more information about
Georgia’s Pre-K Program or Bright
from the Start, visit:
www.decal.state.ga.us