Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS)

Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS) GEEARS’ vision is, by 2020, all students will enter kindergarten prepared to succeed and on a path to read to learn by third grade.

GEEARS: The Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization operating to inspire and provide leadership for a statewide movement on quality early learning and healthy development for all children ages birth through five. The Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students was established in 2010 to help business, civic and government leaders maximize the economic return on the state’s investments in early care and learning.

Young children learn through relationships. Smaller ratios give teachers more time for the responsive, one-on-one intera...
10/06/2026

Young children learn through relationships. Smaller ratios give teachers more time for the responsive, one-on-one interactions that support children's safety, learning, and development.

A new federal proposal would eliminate Head Start's research-based staff-to-child ratio requirements and instead rely on state licensing minimums. For 2-year-olds in Georgia, that could mean going from one Early Head Start teacher for every four children to one adult for every 10.

Today is the last day to submit a public comment. Click the link in our comments to make your voice heard.

Babies and young children are developing the social and emotional skills they'll use for the rest of their lives. When c...
10/03/2026

Babies and young children are developing the social and emotional skills they'll use for the rest of their lives. When challenges arise, early support can make a difference.

Head Start currently requires programs to have regular access to infant and early childhood mental health consultation and to connect screenings with follow-up and referrals. A new federal proposal would remove many of these specific requirements.

Mental health is part of healthy development. It should remain part of high-quality Head Start. Click the link in our comments to take action.

10/02/2026

Our Early Childhood Candidate Forum on Tuesday was a resounding success, attracting a robust audience, key candidates for statewide office, and the compelling results of our likely voter poll! Thank you to the candidates who shared their plans to support young Georgians and their families: Gubernatorial candidates Rick Jackson for Governor (via video) and Keisha for Georgia, Lieutenant Governor candidate Josh McLaurin, and State School Superintendent candidates Richard Woods for State School Superintendent and Dr. Lydia Powell. Click the link in comments for a recording of the entire forum.

09/29/2026

Welcome to the 2026 Candidate Forum. We will hear from candidates for statewide office about health, child care, Pre-K, family supports, and more. This is an exciting opportunity for candidates to share their vision for a Georgia in which all young children and their families can thrive.

GEEARS and our pollster will also present findings from our September 2026 survey of Georgians statewide who shared their thoughts on policy issues affecting children ages birth to five and their families.

Visit: www.geears.org/vote

09/25/2026

What makes Head Start Head Start? As these child care providers from around the state shared with us, this venerable, two-gen program meets families’ needs in myriad ways. Yet proposed changes could make Head Start less effective.

Click the link in our comments to learn more and lift your voice during the public comment period, which ends on October 6th.

09/23/2026

Georgia is well represented at the Zero to Three meeting at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis! 👏

DECAL IECMH Director Laura Lucas is pictured with IECMH Task Force members and co-presented a session on Family Leadership with Teresa Wright Johnson, IECMH Caregiver Voice Workgroup Co-chair.

Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Georgia Division of Family & Children Services, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS), and GA AIMH are also represented.

On Saturday, PAACT joined our partner, Early Learning Property Management, Inc., to celebrate several Atlanta child care...
09/22/2026

On Saturday, PAACT joined our partner, Early Learning Property Management, Inc., to celebrate several Atlanta child care providers who transformed their facilities this year with grants from the PAACT Repair & Renovation Grant Program.

We hailed the hard work and support network that made these improvements possible—and cheered on the next wave of grant recipients, who will be forging “full steam ahead” toward their own repairs and renovations in the coming year. We’re grateful for the passionate partner alliance that continues to make this critical facility work possible.

09/21/2026

Strong communities and a strong workforce go hand in hand. Access to affordable, high-quality child care is an important part of supporting working families, attracting talent and strengthening local economies.

Join us at our State of Rural Prosperity event for a conversation on Child Care as Economic Infrastructure, featuring Suzanne Harbin, Director of Early Childhood Initiative, The Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia; Caitlyn Hatcher, Executive Director, Moultrie Chamber; and Bivins Miller, Superintendent, Bryan County Schools, moderated by Kristin Bernhard, Chief Executive Officer, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS). The panel will explore innovative partnerships and community-driven strategies that help rural communities support families and strengthen their economies.

📅 September 30, 2026
📍 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center

Register today: https://www.gachamber.com/event/state-of-rural-prosperity/

Early Head Start begins supporting children and families before a baby is even born.Its current standards help connect p...
09/21/2026

Early Head Start begins supporting children and families before a baby is even born.

Its current standards help connect pregnant women and families to prenatal and postpartum care, health insurance, mental health and nutrition services, and other supports for maternal and infant health.

A new federal proposal would eliminate several of these specific requirements. Streamlining Head Start shouldn't mean weakening supports that help babies and families get off to a healthy start. Visit the link in our comments to take action.

09/18/2026

For so many of our Annual Luncheon’s 200+ attendees yesterday, the pursuit of a Georgia in which every young child can thrive is personal.

The same was true for our sparkling keynote speaker, Olympic gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor. Her two young sons, who have disabilities, are her biggest motivators, she told 11Alive. “But it’s also about them being able to reach their own opportunities, and programs like GEEARS are the same types of programs that they use in order to get the resources they need; in order to be the people who they need to be.”

If you’re as inspired by GEEARS as Elana and the sponsors and guests who contributed more than $140,000 to this event, click the link in our comments to donate!

🎥: 11Alive

Address

3400 Peachtree Road NE, Ste 1200
Atlanta, GA
30326

Telephone

+14044108564

Website

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