DECAL Chairwoman Susan Harper will read to more than 250 pre-K students

ALBANY — Georgia’s pre-K programs are celebrating their 25th anniversary during this week’s annual Pre-K Week. Events are planned all across the state through Friday.

DECAL (Department of Early Care and Learning), which administers the state’s pre-K programs, will kick off its Albany celebration today when Board Chairwoman Susan Harper will read to more than 250 pre-K students at 10 a.m. at the Dougherty Pre-K Center on Cordell Road.

“Former Gov. Zell Miller launched Georgia’s lottery-funded pre-K program in 1992 as a pilot program serving 750 4-year-old children,” Harper said. “Since then, Georgia’s pre-K program has laid a solid foundation for academic excellence and future success in the lives of approximately 1.6 million children. Today, we serve around 84,000 4-year-olds all across the state. Georgia is currently one of just eight states that provides high-quality care to more than half of its 4-year-olds.

Harper added that early childhood education is critical in a young child’s development.

“You may not realize this, but in the first few years of a child’s life, 700 new neural connections are formed every second. That’s why quality early childhood education is so important for today and for their future,” she said. “Recent studies conducted by national researchers from FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill found children in Georgia’s pre-K make significant gains in language, math and behavioral skills during their pre-K year.

“The gains in language and literacy are especially important, as they suggest that children are gaining foundational skills in pre-K that are necessary for later reading success.”

During the Pre-K Week celebration, Harper said hundreds of state and local leaders will celebrate the program’s 25th birthday by reading to Georgia’s youngest learners. Now in its seventh year, Georgia Pre-K Week is coordinated by Voices for Georgia’s Children, a policy and advocacy nonprofit organization.

“The goal of Pre-K Week is to emphasize the importance of quality early childhood education by providing opportunities for leaders to engage with pre-K classrooms in local communities,” Harper said. “And the children love having guests come to read to them … from Governor Deal and the first lady to state legislators and local officials.

Harper suggests parents and families make certain their child’s pre-K program is quality-rated.

“This is a way that Georgia parents and families can find information on quality child care programs in their area that have been evaluated by independent experts — regardless of what type of program they prefer, whether at a home, a preschool at a center or a program at a school,” she said.

Parents and families can go online to www.qualityrated.org to cross-check child care referrals they receive from families and friends or through other research they’ve done. They can make sure that the program they are considering is evaluated by the state of Georgia and committed to providing children an environment and experience that is best for their development.