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During our annual Georgia Pre-K Week, held October 4-8, DECAL officially named Georgia’s Pre-K Teachers of the Year for the 2021-2022 school year. The private center winner is LaNita Carey from Jackson Creek Academy in Lilburn, and the public school winner is Stephanie Curington from Kings Chapel Elementary School in Perry.  Joining us to talk about this experience are our new Georgia Pre-K Teachers of the Year LaNita and Stephanie, along with Meghan McNail, Summer Transition Program and Outreach Coordinator who oversees the Teachers of the Year every year.  

With 700 employees all across Georgia, traveling between cities to visit child care programs and meet with community partners and advocates, the DECAL team has stockpiled some great information about the Best Places to Eat in Georgia.  Joining us to talk about this tasteful topic is Carrie Ashbee, Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Early Learning; Billie Joe Sutton is a Georgia’s Pre-K Program Specialist serving Southwest Georgia; and Ira Sudman is Chief Legal Officer here at DECAL.  Hope you're hungry!   

“Our food, our future.”  October is National Farm to School and Early Care and Education Month with thousands of schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities, and organizations across the country celebrating food education, school gardens and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients. Joining us to talk about National Farm to School and Early Care and Education Month is Diana Myers, Nutrition Health Educator here at DECAL, and Kimberly Della Donna, Farm to School Director with Georgia Organics.  

Plus, a DECAL Download EXTRA, featuring Woody Dover, DECAL Enterprise Project Management Director, explaining the new STABLE 4WARD funding for licensed Georgia child care programs from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed by Congress.

The Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, that most people know as GEEARS, celebrates ten years of community impact this year, although due to COVID the milestone was celebrated virtually.  Joining us to talk about Ten Years of GEEARS and its relationship with DECAL is Stephanie Blank, GEEARS founder and chair of the Board of Directors, and Mindy Binderman, Executive Director. 

DECAL and the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning have announced the recipients of the 2021-2022 DECAL Scholars of the Year.  This year’s program celebrates the 20th Anniversary of DECAL Scholars which supports early care and educational professionals in Georgia in gaining more education and skills and earning financial awards.  Joining us to talk about this very special recognition are our DECAL Scholars of the Year…the four-year college/university winner is Edelina Lane of Ellenwood, a Family Child Care Provider who is a student at Point University; Technical College winner is Quinecia Styles Smith of Newnan, a lead teacher at Parker Chase Preschool North in Peachtree City and student at West Georgia Technical College; Carla Rogg is President of CARE Solutions that manages DECAL Scholars; and Carrie Ashbee, executive director of the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning.  

WGAU Radio's Tim Bryant interviews Susan Adams, Deputy Commissioner for Georgia's Pre-K Program and Instructional Supports, about Georgia Pre-K Week and other topics.

There’s a new face in DECAL’s Pre-K and Instructional Supports Division overseeing our Infant and Toddler, Inclusion and Behavior Supports, and Child and Family Development teams.  Director of Practice and Support Services Rebecca Ellis joins DECAL from the Technical College System of Georgia where she served as Director of Accountability in the Office of Adult Education.  She’s also been Director of Innovation for the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and has a background in social work with a Masters of Social Work from the University of Alabama and after grad school worked as a foster care worker and child protective services in Birmingham.  

DECAL has joined the Georgia Department of Public Health in updating COVID-19 Guidance specifically for Georgia child care facilities.  The guidance, first released in August 2020, covers everything from COVID-19 prevention strategies, promoting vaccinations, and consistent and correct use of masks.  Joining us to talk about COVID-19 guidance for child care in Georgia is Pam Stevens, Deputy Commissioner of Child Care Services, and Dr. Jenna Gettings is an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta currently assigned as a school team lead with the Georgia Department of Public Health.  

This year DECAL and Voices for Georgia’s Children will celebrate the 11th Annual Georgia’s Pre-K Week, October 4-8, 2021.  In 1992, Governor Zell Miller launched a pilot program called Georgia’s Pre-K.  Pre-K Week is an opportunity for us to tell this great success story of Georgia’s Pre-K…a voluntary, free program available to all of Georgia’s four-year-olds, regardless of parental income...and it continues to be nationally recognized for its success.  Joining us to talk about Georgia Pre-K Week is Dr. Erica Fener-Sitkoff, Executive Director at Voices for Georgia’s Children and Susan Adams, Deputy Commissioner for Georgia’s Pre-K Program and Instructional Supports, and Joseph Lillyblad, Manager of Education and Workforce Development with Georgia Power, our corporate sponsor.  

DECAL recently developed a new process to ensure that all contracts with the agency are clear, achieve your objectives, and protect the department’s best interests.  The process also helps us with grant agreements.  Today we’re discussing this new process but listeners who might be interested in doing business with the state should stay tuned too because we will be discussing that as well.  Joining us to talk about the new contract process is Ira Sudman, DECAL’s Chief Legal Officer, David Ginsburg is our Contract and Procurement Attorney, and Michael Rodgers is Director of Finance.  

You probably know Jennifer Bridgman as the Process and Quality Improvement Manager in Child Care Services and Sha-de’ Thomas as our CAPS Quality Assurance and Training Consultant, but did you know they are both published authors writing about the COVID-19 impact on young children and children’s mental health?  The books are “When the People Stayed Home” and “Today at School." 

You’ve probably heard about the Georgia’s Pre-K Program Teachers of the Year, something we’ve done since the 2016-2017 school year.  Now thanks to the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning, we are also recognizing early education teachers of children birth to preschool through the inaugural Georgia’s Early Childhood Educators of the Year Program.  Joining us to talk about Georgia’s Early Childhood Educators of the Year is Thea Stevens, Supervisor of the Infant Toddler Program here at DECAL, and Carrie Ashbee, Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning.  

With the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on the rise…and the number of Georgians fully vaccinated at less than fifty percent…there are many questions from families and parents about what to do with child care.  Joining us to talk about COVID-19 and child care in Georgia is Pam Stevens, Deputy Commissioner for Child Care Services, and Dr. Amber Schmidtke, an expert in microbiology and immunology who is following the COVID-19 trends in Georgia very closely.    

School bells are ringing for more than 60,000 of Georgia’s youngest learners as Georgia’s Pre-K Program begins the new school year. The first day of Georgia’s Pre-K Program varies based on school system and child care provider. Joining us to talk about Georgia’s Pre-K Program and this 29th year of operation is Faith Duncan, Director of Field Operations for Georgia’s Pre-K Program, and Alice Lasseter, one of or Pre-K specialists working with teachers and assistant teachers in Georgia’s Pre-K Program. 

From the return of Georgia’s Pre-K Program to our return to in-person visits in child care programs, there’s a lot happening this week here at DECAL.  Join us as we catch up with Commissioner Jacobs on a wide variety of topics, many taken from today's headlines.

Here’s a fun fact:  The single largest employer in the State of Georgia…is the State of Georgia.  Georgia State Government is a large enterprise, composed of more than 80 entities with a common goal to improve the lives of Georgia's 10 million citizens. With nearly 68,000 employees, there are public service opportunities all across the state with positions located in all 159 counties.  Joining us to talk about career opportunities here at DECAL is Sheryl Young-Wilhite, Senior Manager of Human Resources, and Mark Dock, Human Resources Supervisor.  

It’s never too early to be thinking about your child’s college education…even for our youngest learners.  Now four lucky children attending Georgia child care programs have a chance to get an early start on their college savings plan thanks to Path2College 529 Plan and the We Care Child Care Sweepstakes.  Joining us is Mitch Seabaugh, Executive Director of the Path2College 529 Plan.

On June 25, Governor Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp, and Commissioner Jacobs visited one of our Summer Transition Program classes for Rising Kindergarten students at the Avant Learning Academy in Savannah.  This is a Quality Rated Program offering Georgia’s Pre-K.  Joining us today is Wanda Avant, owner and director of Avant Learning Academy.  

We made some new friends recently in Savannah who are helping children discover a love for reading in a very unique way.  During a visit to one of our Summer Transition Programs for Rising Kindergarten students, Governor Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp, and Commissioner Jacobs introduced Ron Binkney and Lucky, a Golden Retriever who has turned the page in literacy for early learners. 

Here in Georgia school starts back beginning in late July and August and our Inclusion and Behavioral Support Team wants to help families and teachers get ready with tips, strategies, and tools to promote social-emotional learning and minimize challenging behaviors, especially after a pandemic.  The campaign is called “Planting SEEDS for a Successful School Year” using our SEEDS for Success Program and Helpline.  Joining us to talk about “Planting SEEDS for a Successful School Year” is Allison O’Hara, Inclusion and Behavior Support Program Director, and Peggy Sutton, Inclusion and Behavior Support Specialist.