Applications to Provide Georgia’s Pre-K Program Now Available
Print This PostDeadline for Submitting Applications: 5 p.m., April 21, 2017
Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) has posted applications for new and returning providers of Georgia’s Pre-K Program for the 2017-2018 school year, the 25th anniversary of the program. Providers of currently funded classes can request expansion classes via DECAL’s PANDA website while new providers can receive information about the application review, award process, and grant funding at decal.ga.gov. The deadline for all applications is 5 p.m. EDT, Friday, April 21, 2017.
Georgia’s Pre-K Program is an educational program for age-eligible children in Georgia funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education. To attend Georgia’s Pre-K in the 2017-2018 school year, a child must be four years old on or before September 1, 2017. Georgia’s Pre-K Program normally operates on the regular school system calendar for the length of a typical school day. This year, approximately 81,000 four year olds are being served in 3,863 Georgia’s Pre-K classes at 1,861 locations.
The purpose of the program is to prepare children for success in Kindergarten and later school years.
Programs are offered in a variety of settings: public schools; for profit and nonprofit child care learning centers; YMCAs/YWCAs; military bases, and faith-based organizations.
“Since its beginning 25 years ago, Georgia’s Pre-K Program has grown and improved to meet the ever-changing needs of Georgia’s children and families,” said DECAL Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs. “Recent research supports that, on average, children’s skills in language/literacy, math, self-knowledge, and general knowledge gained during their Pre-K year were sustained through Kindergarten. These findings confirm that Pre-K provides the strong foundation needed for future learning.”
For more information about becoming a provider in Georgia’s Pre-K Program, call 404-656-5957 or 1-888-4GA-PREK and ask for the Pre-K Consultant of the Day.
Contact:
Reg Griffin
DECAL Communications Director
404-656-0239
reg.griffin@decal.ga.gov
Bill Valladares
GaFCP Communications Director
404-739-0043
william@gafcp.org
Follow us on Twitter: @gafcpnews
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 the voluntary quality enhancement programs.
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.