“GEEARS proudly supports this Campaign and the work that all of the participating statewide organizations are accomplishing. Our work at GEEARS will continue to align with the four pillars as we strive toward our vision of all Georgia students reading by the end of third grade.”

Mindy Binderman, Executive Director

The mission of the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS)—to inspire and provide leadership for a statewide movement on quality early learning and healthy development for children ages 5 and under—strongly aligns with the Get Georgia Reading Campaign’s four-pillar common agenda, and their organization was established with the goal of achieving these pillars. GEEARS creates and promotes new, innovative ideas to encourage access to high-quality early education and recognizes the strong connections between quality early education and family engagement.

GEEARS is applying the four pillars as a framework for action and collaboration through their annual Mayor’s Summer Reading Club that brings together various partners to promote literacy skills and vocabulary enrichment for children ages 8 and under and their families. Children receive language-rich, adult-child interactions, and families get access to books and summer enrichment programs. This collaboration promotes a positive learning climate while also equipping parents and caregivers with the skills and tools to create a similar environment at home and in the classroom.

Through Frontiers of Innovation, GEEARS is seeking new methods for fostering positive learning climates for children at home and in the classroom. They are collaborating with preexisting community organizations to create stronger family engagement and mindfulness for the families in targeted communities. By improving the interactions between children and their caregivers, they are ultimately improving a student’s opportunity to successfully read by the end of third grade.

Additionally, GEEARS focuses on their campaign promoting Quality Rated, a resource for families to use when selecting the best early education program for their child. This campaign is promoting access to quality early learning and care across the state while also encouraging early learning programs to commit to providing quality services by becoming “Quality Rated” programs.

To learn more about GEEARS, visit their website.