SMART START IS SMART FOR STATE

July 29, 2004

JULY 29, 2004 While the curriculum and quality of teaching in K-12 is most important in raising the number of high school graduates and those going on to institutions of higher learning, Georgia is also attacking the problem at a much earlier stage.

The Smart Start Georgia program, which is an outgrowth of former Gov. Roy Barnes' Georgia Early Learning Initiative, targets children and their environments long before they are old enough to enroll in kindergarten.

Researchers learned years ago that the most critical development time for a child is the earliest years. Consider that by age three, 90 percent of a child's intellect, personality and social skills are formed.

That's why kindergarten and first-grade teachers have such a wide variation of student readiness when children first enter their classes. The child whose parents, perhaps, didn't finish high school and don't value education comes into the classroom far behind peers whose parents often read to them, carried on conversations and taught them about colors, shapes, forms, words and numbers. In addition to knowing about these concepts, the latter group has a much larger vocabulary.

In funding Smart Start Georgia, the state recognized the positive impact that could occur on the state's youngest residents if the quality of child care were upgraded. This early childhood initiative seeks to enhance the toys, the training of child care providers and the learning experiences that occur after parents turn charge of their babies over to someone else while they go to work or to school.

This year the $11.5 million Smart Start state budget, which comes through the Department of Human Resources, represents 70 percent government funding and 30 percent private dollars.

In counties, such as Dougherty and Sumter, where the program operates with additional incentives, staff members identify child care facilities ? whether in a home where only a few children are looked after by a relative or a commercial operation ?that can most benefit from their assistance. 

On-site training and technical assistance are offered, and workers, especially directors, are encouraged to earn a child development associates degree. They can receive scholarships and salary bonuses.

Consider how many tens of thousands of youngsters are currently in daycare in Georgia. The care ranges from a stimulating learning environment, even for infants, to places where children are only fed, get naps and watch television.

Children at the lower end of care are missing out on the most important development years of their lives. Their very limited life experiences fail to stimulate an appetite for learning.

Smart Start Georgia's load is heavy as its staff strives to change what happens day to day to the state's future work force. The program is one we can't afford to be without. 

â?? This article posted with permission from the Albany Herald.