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In January, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education presented its 16th edition of Top Ten Issues to Watch Report.  This year’s report considers the educational progress Georgia has made over the past decade and how are we are preparing for 2030.  Joining us to talk about the Top Ten Issues is Dr. Dana Rickman, Vice President of GPEE, and Dr. Robert Gaines, Director of Communications.

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Governor Brian Kemp has announced that Georgia has received a three-year, $11.2-million Preschool Development Renewal Grant (PDG) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education. Georgia is one of only 20 states to receive this grant that will allow the state to expand efforts to help families access high quality early childhood services statewide. This funding builds on an initial $2.9 million PDG planning grant the state received in January 2019.  In this episode, Deputy Commissioner of Georgia's Pre-K Program and Instructional Supports Susan Adams talks with John Clark on the Georgia News Network's "Georgia Focus" program about the grant and its impacts. 

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The 2020 Georgia General Assembly has been in session for almost a month now.  The opening week starting January 13 included the annual State of the State Address by Governor Brian Kemp.  Joining us to discuss the General Assembly and the State of the State is Liz Young, Director of Government Relations and Special Projects for DECAL, and Rian Ringsrud, our Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration.

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All next week, February 10-14, the State of Georgia and all of us at the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning are celebrating Inclusive Early Learning Week.  It’s our effort to increase public awareness and advocacy for inclusion…and to celebrate inclusive classrooms here in Georgia.  Here to talk about this special week and how you can get involved is Veronica Thomas, Inclusion and Behavior Support Manager, and Codi Parham, Behavior Support Specialist.    

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With over 700 employees across the state, Information Technology is vitally important to the success of our agency, from personal laptops and smartphones to custom applications on a myriad of servers and websites.  2019 was a busy year of moving information to the cloud and rebranding of DECAL IT and formally establishing our internal IT Service Management processes using ServiceNow, a cloud-based IT service management platform.  Here to talk about ServiceNow and other improvements currently happening in IT is Dennis Brice, Chief Information Officer for DECAL, and Arun Kandel, our Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Technology Officer. 

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When Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Program moved from DFCS to DECAL, part of the restructuring was the addition of a Family Support component, working alongside Program Administration and Scholarship Administration.  The new CAPS Program was charged with working with families to help them achieve self-sufficiency, beyond the need for assistance in paying for child care.  Here to talk about CAPS Family Support and the 2Generation Strategy of working with both children and their families are Donna Johnson and Shawnell Johnson, co-directors of CAPS Family Support.  

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Research tells us that, regardless of their abilities, children in high-quality child care programs are better prepared to enter school and more likely to develop healthy social and emotional skills.  Here at DECAL, we’re proud of our Inclusion and Behavior Support Services Unit, and a new helpline they recently launched that makes assistance just a phone call away.  Joining us today are the Inclusion and Behavior Support Regional Supervisors who help staff the helpline, Michelle Clark (west), Katie Hagan (south), and Lindsey Urry (east).  

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For the fourth consecutive year, DECAL has named Georgia’s Pre-K Program Teachers of the Year, recognizing a winner from a local public school system and a winner from a private child care center.  Joining us to talk about the Teacher of the Year recognition are Heather Williams and Johnathon Hines, our 2019-2020 Pre-K Teachers of the Year. They’re joined by Meghan McNail, Summer Transition and Outreach Manager for Georgia’s Pre-K Program.

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Since 2016, DECAL has offered paid internships to students currently enrolled in a Georgia college, university or law school with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.  This semester our interns are representing Clark Atlanta University, Georgia State University, Rice University, and Savannah State University.  Here to talk about the DECAL Internship Program is Darien Watson, Recruiter Specialist with our Human Resources Division, along with Interns Neomi Fletcher, Jessica Snelling, and David Mahone.

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In August, DECAL introduced a new group of Family Ambassadors to help promote school readiness among the vulnerable and underserved populations in their communities.  Today we have 42 ambassadors representing 27 counties across the state.  Here to talk about the Family Ambassadors is Bridget Ratajczak, Child and Family Development Supervisor; and Ann Panzica, Child and Family Development Specialist. 

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