ATLANTA —  Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning has announced that DeAsha Jenkins, a student at Sumter County Primary School in Americus, has won a statewide art contest celebrating the 25th birthday of Georgia’s Pre-K Program. The daughter of DeAndrea and Marquellis Jenkins illustrated the occasion with a large birthday cake and children learning their ABCs and 123s. Her drawing will be used as the official logo for the 25th Birthday of Georgia’s Pre-K Program, which begins this fall with the 2017-2018 school year.
Under the leadership and personal involvement of Governor Zell Miller, Georgia’s Pre-K Program began as a pilot program in 1992 serving 750 at-risk four-year-old children and their families at 20 sites. Three million dollars from state funds paid for the program. In 1993-94, the first lottery funds were utilized to provide prekindergarten programs for more than 8,700 at-risk four-year-old children. In September 1995, the program was universally opened to all eligible four-year-old children, not just at-risk families.
Last school year approximately 84,000 four-year-olds attended Georgia’s Pre-K Program. The voluntary, lottery-funded Pre-K program has been recognized as one of the top programs in the nation, based on quality standards, teacher qualifications, and enrollment.
Georgia’s Pre-K Program is universal — meaning that any age eligible child residing in Georgia may attend the program regardless of family income. Georgia’s model for providing the Pre-K program is unique in that it is offered through a public-private partnership in local school systems, in private child care centers, and in other facilities.
About Bright from the Start
Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families. It administers the nationally recognized Georgia’s Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program, federal nutrition programs, and manages Quality Rated, Georgia’s community powered child care rating system.
The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education. For more information, go to www.decal.ga.gov.