SMART START GEORGIA APPLAUDS GOVERNOR PERDUE?S PLAN TO IMPROVE EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN IN GEORGIA

January 16, 2004

JANUARY 16, 2004 -- Bright from the Start ensures that every child enters kindergarten ready to succeed -- 

ATLANTA ? Smart Start Georgia applauds Governor Perdue?s innovative plan to improve early care and education through GeorgiaLearns.com, an education package developed to ?inspire and empower students, parents, teachers and all educators to meet higher standards of accountability and achievement.? 

As Governor Perdue unveiled during his State of the State address on Wednesday, new legislation will improve coordination among Georgia?s many early child care programs, including the Office of School Readiness and Smart Start Georgia, by creating Bright from the Start, Georgia?s Office of Early Care and Education. The Office of School Readiness will change its name to Bright from the Start, Georgia?s Office of Early Care and Education while Smart Start Georgia will be attached to it to allow for better coordination.

?At a time when more than 70 percent of Georgia?s fourth graders are reading below grade level and state test scores consistently rank in the bottom 20 percent nationwide, Georgia residents are looking for ways to turn things around,? said Sharen Hausmann, director of Smart Start Georgia. ?Smart Start Georgia supports Governor Perdue?s vision to ensure that Georgia?s more than 500,000 pre-school-aged children develop a strong foundation for learning, starting at birth.? 

By streamlining Georgia?s early child care programs, every child in Georgia will start kindergarten ready to succeed. 

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According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, those who experience high-quality, stable child care engage in more complex play, demonstrate more secure attachments to adults and other children, and score higher on measures of thinking ability and language development.

?Research shows that children who experience quality early learning are less likely to drop out of school, repeat grades, require remedial education, or get into future trouble with the law than similar children who did not have such exposure,? said Marsha Moore, executive director of the Office of School Readiness. 

Quality early learning also can impact the economic success of Georgia. In fact, studies show that every dollar invested in early learning today saves $7.00 in remedial education, welfare and prison costs in the future.

?Quality early care and education is an important and relevant issue not only for parents and educators, but for Georgia as a whole,? said Phil Jacobs, chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and president of BellSouth?s Georgia operations. ?We as a state must embrace the importance of quality early care and education for all of Georgia?s children so they are prepared to succeed by time they enter kindergarten.?

About Smart Start Georgia
Smart Start Georgia, previously known as the Georgia Early Learning Initiative (GELI), is dedicated to creating and implementing innovative programs and outreach initiatives to improve the quality of early care and education for all children ages birth through five throughout the state, promoting lifetime learning and ensuring greater achievement throughout the child's education and beyond. Smart Start Georgia is a public/private partnership among the State of Georgia, the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, United Ways of Georgia, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and more than 40 additional supporting organizations.

For additional information on Smart Start Georgia programs or how to become involved, please call 1.877.STARTGA or visit www.smartstartga.org. 

Stephanie Libby
Edelman
404.262.3000
stephanie.libby@edelman.com

Amanda Bolster
Smart Start Georgia
404.527.7307
abolster@unitedwayatlanta.org