The Early Education Commission (EEC) of Atlanta has issued recommendations for improving access to quality early education for children ages zero to five across metro Atlanta, and ultimately the state.
The recommendations lay out a multi-year plan for assuring consistently high-quality early learning – with Georgia ultimately becoming a national leader in ensuring that children enter kindergarten ready to learn and on a path to "read to learn" by third grade. "Read to learn" refers to a reading skill level necessary for a third-grader to learn at an age-appropriate pace and become a successful student.
"It is essential that children be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten – we know brain development in a child's early years charts a course for success over a lifetime," said Dr. Beverly Tatum, president of Spelman College. "We also know that there is more to school readiness than being ready to read – social, emotional and other cognitive milestones are important, and the EEC's recommendations address all of those."