Georgia Pre-K Week dedicated to supporting our youngest learners

At Synovus, we never stop thinking about the future. That’s why Synovus is proud to be a sponsor of Georgia Pre-K Week 2017 for the fourth consecutive year. Organized by Voices for Georgia’s Children, Georgia Pre-K Week raises awareness of our state’s unique pre-kindergarten program, which happens to be celebrating its 25th anniversary.

From October 2-6, we will join government and business leaders — including Gov. Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal — in recognizing the critical role quality early education plays in the lives of Georgia’s youngest learners and our state’s economy.

Georgia’s Pre-K program has a special place in our state’s commitment to early childhood education. Proposed by Gov. Zell Miller in 1992, Georgia was the first state in the nation to fund such a program. Since then, research consistently shows that young children are ready to learn and more prepared than other students when they reach kindergarten.

This program is admired across the country for helping to put approximately 1.6 million children on track to read at grade level by the end of third grade, and achieve academic excellence and future success. This year, nearly 81,000 four-year-olds are enrolled in Pre-K programs throughout the state.

We all know that reading well is critical for any child’s academic development. But why is it important to a bank?

We recognize that Georgia’s Pre-K program is vital to the economic prosperity and quality of life in those communities. So investing in programs that help young children before they even get to kindergarten will have a long-term impact on our state’s economic well-being.

There are plenty of measures to indicate that this 25-year-old pre-kindergarten program for our four-year-olds is a huge success. For example, the percentage of Georgians earning high school diplomas, college and advanced degrees has soared over the past 20 years. Nearly 30 percent of Georgians have at least a bachelor’s degree and one in 10 Georgians has a master’s degree or higher.

A strong foundation helps set Georgia’s youngest learners up for later success in education and career, but Georgia’s Pre-K also supports their parents and families now. A bank is always trying to determine if its savings and lending products will help customers’ financial lives. When we look at our state’s investment in the pre-kindergarten program, the returns for our citizens are clearly there.

Approximately 500,000 of Georgia’s children in early care programs under age six — roughly 65 percent of children under age six statewide — have parents in the labor force. These parents miss fewer work days, earn more money to support their families and stay employed at higher rates. Georgia parents taking advantage of early care programs earn approximately $24 billion each year.

We are proud that Governor Deal has made early childhood education one of his most important causes. He has fought hard to reduce pre-kindergarten class sizes and increase salaries for teachers and assistant teachers, strengthening a program already considered one of the nation’s best.

Our state’s economic future is tied to the education of all of our citizens. Helping every child get a jump on his or her education provides children and their families with more opportunities to succeed. And it will continue to make our state a place known for making its children’s education a top priority.

This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Georgia Pre-K Week dedicated to supporting our youngest learners."