Full List of Commission Members (including Bios & Pics)


Exciting new EEC Highlights:

Early Education Commission Final Recommendations

Alanta Leaders Announce New Early Education Initiative

• Dennis Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and co-chair of the Early Education Commission, recently presented a speech on February 16th, 2010 to the Atlanta Kiwanas Club stating, "One early sign of success of the Early Education Commission will be when people start saying 'Pre-K through 12' rather than 'K through 12'..."  Please click on link below to view write up of this speech by Maria Saporta from the Atlanta Business Chronicle entitled: "Civic Leaders Working to Improve Early Ed"

• Dennis Lockhart also presented a speech at the Telluride Economic Summit on early childhood investment. Please click on the following link to view this speech entitled: "Early Childhood Education, Economic Development, and the Business Community"
    
• Additionally, from AJC.com, "Recent opinion pieces in The Atlanta Journal Constitution  have focused on how educational improvements can lead to a highly skilled workforce, which has significant implications for the long-term viability of the Atlanta metro region." Please click on the following link to view the most recent EEC op-ed piece in the AJC by Dennis Lockhart & Beverly Tatum entitled: "Atlanta Poised to Lead Early Learning"

• While Georgia has achieved success in increasing participation rates in pre-K  
  programs and is now the second highest in the nation, current programs still 
  serve only 58 percent of 4-year olds. [from the EEC] 
 
• Georgia ranks 44th nationally in overall childhood education status, 45th in 
  teens not attending school and not working, and 47th in the percent of teen 
  high-school dropouts. [From The Annie E. Casey Foundation "Kids Count 
  2007"]

 • A recent community-wide survey conducted by the United Way, the Atlanta 
  Community Foundation, and the Ad Council identified this issue as being among
  the most critical in metro Atlanta and having a high potential for community
  engagement. 

• Co-chair Dennis Lockhart, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of
  Atlanta, has more than 30 years of experience in the financial sector, having
  worked with organizations ranging from Citibank to private equity firm Zephyr
  Management to Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service.
 
• Co-chair Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum is the ninth president of Spelman College
  and a clinical  psychologist whose areas of research interest include black
  families in white communities, racial identity in teens, and the role of race in
  the classroom. 

• Representing the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta on this Commission is
  President Milton Little.

The availability of quality early learning opportunities for all of Atlanta's children is key to the city's future success, as these experiences save money and ultimately lead to a more productive and loyal workforce. 

• The Child Care Action Council found that absenteeism caused by poor quality
  child care costs American businesses more than $3 billion per year.
  [Child Care Action Council] 

• Studies have shown that children who are exposed to quality early learning 
  are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college, own a home 
  and have a savings account. [High/Scope Perry Preschool Study; Chicago
  Child Parent Center] 

• Studies have shown that children who are exposed to quality early learning
  are less likely to commit a crime, depend on welfare, and repeat a grade or
  need special education. [Economic Policy Institute, Exceptional Returns, 2004; 
  High/Scope Perry Preschool Study]

• Ever dollar invested in early learning saves $17.00 in remedial education,
  welfare and prison costs in the future. [High/Scope Perry Preschool Study] 

• Investments in early education for children ages birth through five provided a
  return of 16 percent. This is twice as much as a long-term investment in the
  stock market. [High/Scope Perry Preschool Study] 

• Preschool education has significant lasting effects on cognitive abilities, school progress(grade repetition, special education placement, and high school graduation), and social behavior.[Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects: Research and policy Implications, W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., September 2008] 

• Preschool investments for just one age group of students could generate as
  much as $150 billion in net benefits to the United States. ["The Economic
  Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool," Committee for Economic
  Development, June 2006] 

Over the next two years, the Commission will focus on several important topics, bringing in key experts on each to help us better understand these issues and connect them to the needs of metro Atlanta. The goal: to identify clear areas of focus in which specific changes can be made to improve the early learning landscape. 
 
Working together, we have the potential to ignite changes in our education landscape that will deliver enormous economic and social benefits to our community for years to come.

EEC Meetings & Documents:

EEC _June 2009 Meeting_PERSPECTIVES PART II:

EEC_ECE_RESEARCH REPORT:
13396_EEC_ECEResearchReport_final_060809.pdf

Literature Review_PRIORITY POPULATIONS:
12962_FINAL_LitReview_PrioritiyPopulations_June8.pdf

Literature Review_QUALITY INITIATIVES:
13112_FINAL_LitReview_Quality-EECJune9Mtg_RevJune8.pdf

Literature Review_PROGRAM ELEMENTS:
13057_FINAL_LitReview_ProgramElements-Models_REVJune8.pdf


EEC _May 2009 Meeting_PERSPECTIVES PART I:

May 5, 2009_MEETING AGENDA:
30787_FINALMay1_Agenda_May5Meeting_EEC.pdf

Anthony Berkley, PhD.
30872_SpeakerBkg_BerkleyREV.pdf   

Research Abstract:
30924_Berkley_Spark_TheoryOfChange.pdf 

EEC _March 2009 Meeting _FIELD TRIP:

EEC FIELD TRIP Photos