The Old and the New

I like the idea of putting the young and the old in the same facility. I would like to see more of this. Older people can teach and care for young children, and young children can respond in a a very necessary way for older people. It should be done more often.
Savannah Morning News

District Welcomes Education Ally

Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools superintendent Thomas Lockamy welcomed the mayor's further advance into education Monday and dismissed the suggestion that it could lead to a turf battle.

"I think first of all you can front-load success or back-load failure," Lockamy said. "I think this is a real effort to front- load success, and I would certainly like to be a part of that."

The effort Lockamy referred to is a partnership between the city of Savannah and heavy equipment manufacturer JCB Inc. to open a state-of-the-art early- childhood learning center in westside Savannah. United Way of the Coastal Empire will select an agency to run the center and assist with quality control.

The plans have been in the works for 18 months, but Lockamy didn't learn about them until a reporter contacted him following Monday's announcement.

He said he'd like his staff to work with those planning the center so the planners "could be certain how the preparation of children folds into the work we're doing in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten."

Julie Newton, principal at Bartow Elementary School on Savannah's westside, said a well-run center could mean more students arrive at her school ready to learn.

Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson said that's exactly what he hopes to accomplish. And he guaranteed the school system will be involved.

"We're doing early childhood preparation that (leads) to school readiness," he said.

JCB and the city will open the Lady Bamford Early Childhood Education Center in March in the east wing of the Moses Jackson senior center. It will initially serve about 30 neighborhood children from newborn to four, the age when they'd be eligible to move up to pre-kindergarten.

The center is being designed to serve 58 children but could be expanded to serve more, according to Ellen Hatcher, the Smart Start project director with United Way of the Coastal Empire.

The exact form the center takes will depend on the agency United Way selects to run it. But Hatcher said any program will be buttressed through its involvement with Smart Start, a joint state-non-profit ventures that offers educational incentives to typically low-paid day care workers.

Hatcher said United Way said the agency running the center must also aim to become accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Oversight of day care facilities tends to be fairly lax in Georgia.

Hatcher declined to state the center's projected cost since United Way has not yet received proposals from agencies interested in running it.

Researchers have shown that effective early childhood education can lead to greater academic success. A 2004 study by the Economic Policy Institute also concluded that education programs for 3 and 4 year olds can ultimately bring financial rewards to local governments through higher earnings and reduced crime.

United Way plans to interview agencies Friday that could run the center. Those agencies include Greenbriar Children's Center, Wesley Community Centers, Parent and Child Development Services and YMCA of Coastal Georgia, according to United Way president Gregg Schroeder.
Lockamy said he and Johnson plan to meet face to face for the first time within the next two weeks.