Comprehensive school readiness continues at GPB
Georgia Public Broadcasting has again received a grant to continue participation in the PBS Ready To Learn Service. Begun back in 1993 with Georgia Public Broadcasting as one of four pilot sites, the Ready To Learn Service is public broadcasting's response to our nation's urgent goal of ensuring that children begin school ready to learn.
GPB, with its nine-station network, reaches every county in the state of Georgia in addition to a significant audience in neighboring states. This enables GPB to provide the Ready To Learn Service to children, parents, teachers, and caregivers statewide, including the metro Atlanta area.
The Ready To learn Services provided by GPB include:
* A daily line-up of uninterrupted, commercial-free children's programming from six in the morning to six in the evening
* The First Book Program - the distribution of 300 books each month to children and families who otherwise not own books
* The distribution of PBS Families, a bi-annual magazine designed to extend the learning of Ready To Learn programming through suggested activities, which encourage reading and program interaction (available in both Spanish and English)
* Workshops for parents as well as early childhood professionals and caregivers, which teach how to extend the learning of the Ready To Learn programming
* Creation of community partnerships with organizations like public libraries, Head Start, childcare providers, and other community organizations to further the goal of preparing children for success in learning
According to the 1991 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Survey, one out of every three children in America enters school unprepared for learning. The cause behind this statistic is poor language skills and/or inadequate attention span. These children lack proper educational, social, and emotional development. GPB with the PBS Ready To Learn Service is taking a critical step in bridging the learning gap by giving parents, teachers, and caregivers the tools with which to interact with children and make television an active learning experience. The programming and specially produced messages between shows are aimed at helping children develop skills that will help them be successful in school. Whether it is learning the alphabet, learning to negotiate, or learning to complete a task, the Ready To Learn programming is there to meet the educational need.
