Governor Nathan Deal remains committed to enhancing Georgia’s early learning and development system despite the state not being selected for funding in the first round of the federal Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant competition.

“Georgia has long been nationally recognized as a leader in innovative services and programs for its young children and families, especially with the state’s nationally renowned Pre-K program,” commented Governor Deal. “While Georgia was not selected in this first round of funding, we remain resolved and enthusiastic about improving the coordination, efficiency, and effectiveness of our state’s significant investments in early childhood development.”

Bobby Cagle, Commissioner of Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), the state agency designated by Governor Deal as the lead agency to apply for the grant, remarked, “We are obviously disappointed that Georgia’s application was not selected for funding. But, because of our participation, Georgia now has a comprehensive plan involving other state agencies and private partners to improve school readiness for all children and lessen the achievement gap between at-risk children and their peers. We will move forward to implement as much of this collaborative plan as state resources allow.”

The theme of Georgia’s RTT-ELC application was transforming a good early learning and development system to one that is great by building on the state’s substantial investments and solid foundation. The Governor’s Office, department commissioners, education agency heads, and private businesses will continue to work towards transforming Georgia’s systems and services from good to great. These efforts will improve school readiness for all children and reduce the achievement gap between the state’s at-risk children and their more advantaged peers.

Georgia’s application detailed 11 projects to be funded by the grant. While the state will not have resources to begin working on all 11 projects without federal funding, it will move forward with the following:

• Project 1:

  Develop governance model including leadership roles, communication plans, and representation.

  Next Steps: This project includes restructuring the Georgia State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care which will be co-chaired by Governor Deal and a business leader. The reconstituted Council will include additional key early care and education stakeholders identified in the RTT-ELC application.

• Project 2:

  Consolidate Georgia’s Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs in DECAL.

  Next Steps: Governor Deal has directed the Georgia Department of Human Services, which currently administers the subsidized child care program, to plan for a transition of the program administration to DECAL. Housing subsidized child care for low income families will enable DECAL to tie child care reimbursements to a child care provider’s level of quality as identified through Quality Rated, Georgia’s voluntary tiered quality rating and improvement system. The transition will be complete by July 1, 2012.

• Project 4:

  Fully implement a TQRIS with activities specifically designed to increase program quality, child outcomes, and access for children with high needs.

  Next Steps: Several years ago, DECAL convened a large group of early care and education stakeholders in Georgia to research and develop a tiered quality rating and improvement system (TQRIS) that would improve early education statewide. A well-implemented TQRIS both informs parents about quality while supporting child care providers in enhancing the quality of services they offered. Research in Georgia continues to demonstrate the need of a TQRIS. The initial work of the stakeholders has culminated in Quality Rated, a voluntary TQRIS that utilizes rigorous, multi-faceted standards to rate the quality of care provided by participating child care programs. Quality Rated also has a strong training and technical assistance component to help child care programs attain, maintain, and improve their rating. With corporate and/or foundation support, Quality Rated will also offer limited financial resources to help programs continue to meet the highest quality standards. Even without the Early Learning Challenge funding, Commissioner Cagle is committed to Governor Deal’s vision of a TQRIS in Georgia. After an initial pilot phase and with private and public support, Quality Rated has now officially started enrolling programs. DECAL is excited about the implementation of Quality Rated and, with a methodical roll-out and evaluation, looks forward to seeing the impact of higher quality programs on Georgia’s youngest citizens.

• Project 5:

  Complete revision of the Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS) and implement a roll-out plan including professional development, curriculum alignment, marketing, and resource development.

  Next Steps: In 2010, the DECAL commissioned a study of the Georgia learning standards for children birth through 3rd grade. The study reviewed the alignment and rigor of the standards across age levels and curricular domains. Based on the findings of the study, this project will: 1. Complete the revision of the original document, now called Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS); and 2. Begin the dissemination of the GELDS to child care providers and parents. The GELDS will be a comprehensive set of standards for children birth to age five aligned with the Georgia Common Core Performance Standards (K-12) and the revised Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.

• Project 11:

  Build and enhance Georgia’s early learning data systems to improve instruction, practices, services, and policies.

  With a mandate and limited funding from the Georgia State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care and the current Race to the Top, DECAL has begun expanding current data systems to link additional data to the state’s Pre-K program and the Georgia Department of Education’s statewide longitudinal data system. Once the system design is completed, the Council/DECAL will seek corporate and/or foundation funding to complete construction of the data system.

In summary, Georgia is disappointed not to have been awarded the Early Learning Challenge grant. However, the process of completing the grant application enhanced coordination between state agencies and stakeholders. Though not all projects set forth in the grant can be funded, DECAL will use the grant application to prioritize, focus, and continue to move the state’s early education system from good to great.