Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy

Literacy in Georgia

A third of our children come to
school unprepared to learn.

Approximately 61% of low-income
families do not have a single
piece of reading material
suitable for a child.

41% of Georgia's 4th graders do
not read at grade level.

1 in 5 of our children lives in poverty

Several States plan how many jail cells
they will build in the future by how many
children are not reading on grade level
by 3rd & 4th grade.

Georgia scored 46^th on SATs in 2006.

Nearly 40% of Georgia's students do
not graduate from high school (we rank
49^th or 50^th nationally in drop outs)

One in four adults in Georgia
operates at a low literacy level.

People in the U.S. who are illiterate
represent 75% of the unemployed,
33% of mothers receiving aid, 85%
of juveniles who appear in court
and 60% of prison inmates.

Georgia spends $170 million a
year on remedial education.

Economic studies show that investments
in quality child care and education
for children in their preschool years
provide a return of up to 20%.

With your help, this can change…

Robin Ferst, Chair
Founder, Board Chair of Ferst Foundation

Dr. Bill Rushing, Treasurer
Retired Economist, Georgia State University

Dr. Stan DeJarnett, Secretary
Superintendent, Morgan County School System

Dr. Terry Blum
Ted Munchak Chairholder, Professor and Director, Insitute of Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Georgia Tech College of Management

Kwanza Hall
Elected Member, Atlanta City Council

Robert Hall
Retired IBM & Corrently Principal, HRH Consulting

Barbara W. Levy
Founder, Education Connection

Will Lobb
Managing Director, Oppenheimer

A. G. (Sandy) Morehouse
Owner, Burge Plantation

Margaret Quinlin
Publisher, Peachtree Publishers, Ltd

Everett Royal
Entrepreneur/Developer

Gay Knox Vaughn
Retired Real Estate Broker

STAFF

Executive Director
Shauna von Hanstein

CAT Coordinator
Tera Cochran

Administrative Assistant
Sandy Bridges-Overton