Quality PreK

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Quality Pre-K for Georgias Children
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Sheila Cornelius

• Sheila Cornelius is a native of New Jersey and
  has lived in the Atlanta area for more than
  years. Sheila has been an active member of PTA
  for over 20 years and currently serves as the
  President-elect for the Georgia Parent Teacher
  Association. In this capacity Sheila,
  Sheila is a skilled advocate in parent rights and
  collaboration for a myriad of topics including
  ensuring quality Pre-K for all of Georgias
  children.

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Julie Pennybacker

• As Executive Director of Education First Julie
  has focused her attention on initiatives focused
  on 0-5 school readiness, teacher support and
  after school programs which have a positive
  impact on students. A graduate of Chapman
  University (Orange County, California) Julie has
  worked in the Griffin-Spalding County School
  System, in Educational Software Sales and
  non-profit management. Julie has enjoyed the
  opportunity to serve on state-wide initiatives
  such as the Effective Staffing Task Force with
  PSC and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in
  Education. As an active community member, Julie
  currently serves on the Chamber Education
  Committee, board member of the Downtown Rotary of
  Macon, Bibb County Family Connections steering
  committee and has participated in several
  community teams to build KaBoom! Playgrounds. A
  native of Griffin, Georgia, Julie is now a
  resident of Macon, Georgia with her two
  daughters, Hannah and Ellie.

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Lauren Veasey

• Lauren Veasey is a Program Officer with the
  Southern Education Foundation (SEF) in Atlanta,
  GA. Her current research projects include
  Pre-Kindergarten Programs in the American South
  High School Dropouts in Alabama Miles to Go
  research for K-12 school systems in Louisiana and
  Mississippi, as well as Southern Education After
  Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Veasey received her
  Master of Arts Degree in Education Policy
  Research from the University of Michigan, where
  she worked as a Research Associate with the
  Institute for Research on Women and Gender on
  issues related to girls education. She holds a
  Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from
  Stanford University.  She is a 2007 Association
  of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) Connecting
  Leaders Fellow, as well as a 2007 Southeastern
  Council of Foundations Hull Fellow.

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Tamika Witcher

• As a Professional School Counselor in Atlanta
  Public Schools, Tamika is responsible for forging
  partnerships with parents and the community,
  designing and implementing methods and practices
  that foster students social and emotional
  development, as well as creating programs and
  initiatives that educate and equip students and
  parents with the skills necessary to overcome
  barriers that impede academic excellence. She
  began her career with Atlanta Public Schools as a
  2nd grade educator in an inner-city elementary
  school. Tamika is involved in many civic
  organizations including Poised, Pretty in Pink, a
  social outreach group for young girls ages 3-12,
  The Junior League of Atlanta and Alpha Kappa
  Alpha Sorority, Inc.

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Georgia Led the Way
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Current Standings
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Current Standings
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Pre-K Enrollment
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What Does Quality Pre-K Look Like?

• Virtual Classroom Tour

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Benefits of High-Quality Pre-K
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Benefits of High-QualityPre-K
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Funding
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Funding
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• What Children Learn