1. Spotlight on Georgia's Project LITTLE (Lifting Infants and Toddlers through Language-Rich Environments)
- Author
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Child Trends, Steber, Kate, and Epstein, Dale
- Abstract
In early 2017, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) was awarded $2 million in funding from the governor of Georgia to be used for infant/toddler (I/T) language and literacy activities. DECAL used this funding to create Project LITTLE (Lifting Infants and Toddlers Through Language-rich Environments). Project LITTLE was designed with the goal of supporting and fostering early language and literacy among infants and toddlers through a variety of coaching and professional development supports for I/T providers over a two-year period. Project LITTLE was also created with the goal of developing an I/T workforce pipeline that helps teachers advance their knowledge and skills while improving the quality of education for infants and toddlers across the state of Georgia. Following a six-month planning process, DECAL launched Project LITTLE in August 2017. The first cohort of Project LITTLE included 13 early childhood education (ECE) centers in targeted counties across the state that received support during the 2017-18 and 2018-2019 fiscal years. Counties were identified using data on selected risk factors including child poverty, unemployment, premature birth rates, and chronically failing schools serving elementary-age children. Project LITTLE is now in its third year of implementation. The second cohort (30 ECE centers) of Project LITTLE began receiving support during the 2018-19 school year, and the third cohort (40 ECE centers) began receiving support during the current 2019-20 school year. Currently, Project LITTLE supports approximately 400 I/T teachers across the state of Georgia. Successes and challenges are provided, and Next Steps are included.
- Published
- 2019