Executive Summary
Early Learning Property Management (ELPM) was incorporated in 1999 as a 501(c)3 to be a force in upgrading the educational achievement, health standards and quality of life for young children.
ELPM’s mission is to build high quality early learning centers primarily in disadvantaged neighborhoods that provide high quality education and nurturing programs birth through five years old. Over the past 9 years ELPM has purchased, renovated or constructed 11 high quality early learning centers located in Fulton, DeKalb, Greene, Gwinnett and Paulding counties to serve young children, their families and their communities in nationally accredited centers.
ELPM is currently underway with several partnership discussions for additional high quality early learning centers throughout metro Atlanta which will serve an additional 700+ young children, their families and communities. As well, ELPM has launched partnership discussions with the Board of Regents and DTAE to help link colleges with local high quality early learning centers to incorporate teaching labs into their early learning degree programs. Since completing the D. Scott Hudgens Early Learning Center, located on the Gwinnett Technical Campus, ELPM has embarked on initial discussions with the Bagwell College of Education at Kennesaw State University (KSU) to partner in constructing a state of the art early education facility which will be located on the KSU campus.
This early learning center will integrate their teacher training program into the daily activities of the center giving the students a hands on experience, very much like the Gwinnett Tech center. With the Board of Regents approval of a four year degree program for teachers in the birth through four year old age group, this will allow the Gwinnett Technical College curriculum to articulate in the KSU program enabling the Gwinnett graduates to continue their education at KSU to obtain a four year degree.
ELPM centers also facilitate community collaboration with parents, local health care practitioners, local school systems, neighborhoods and community outreach programs. These centers have a positive economic impact on the community at large by providing full time employment, childcare programs, health awareness and outreach programs such as job training, computer literacy, and English as a second language.
ELPM is not part of any state or national accreditation process. ELPM has a close working relationship with Smart Start Georgia (SSG), a partnership between the State of Georgia, the Whitehead Foundation, and United Way, to address early education facility needs for metro Atlanta.
SSG is the umbrella group who partnered with ELPM to identify the major issues related to birth through five year olds and their families and develop a master plan to address these issues. Other important partners include the foundation and philanthropic community, the center providers, the local school systems, and the agencies that fund the educational programs.
In 2001, ELPM was awarded the Jean Childs Young Award.
To find out more about Smart Start Georgia, please visit their website at www.smartstartga.org or United Way at www.unitedwayatl.org.
