Georgia’s Pre-K Program launched in 1992 as a small pilot program by Governor Zell Miller. At the time, Georgia’s Pre-K served 750 four-year-old children in the state. Now, 30 years later, the lottery-funded program has laid a solid foundation for academic excellence and future success in the lives of more than 2 million children in Georgia.

Georgia’s Pre-K was the nation’s first state-funded universal preschool program for four-year-olds, and is a voluntary, no-cost program. Every four-year-old in Georgia is eligible for Georgia’s Pre-K Program regardless of parental income. The program continues to be nationally recognized for its success.

Georgia Pre-K Week was born out of the 2009-2010 recession, after the program was nearly eliminated by the Georgia Legislature due to funding constraints. Since then, Voices for Georgia’s Children, along with the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, has hosted an annual week-long celebration of Georgia’s Pre-K Program.

Georgia Pre-K Week is an opportunity for legislators and leaders around the state to visit with and/or read a children’s book to students in Pre-K classrooms within their local communities. This engagement allows state leaders a first-hand experience into the early education classroom.