The Charles R. Drew Charter School, the Cox Pre-K Program, East Lake Early Learning Academy and Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Center represent the cradle-to-college pipeline in the East Lake Community and are an integral part of the holistic neighborhood revitalization led by the East Lake Foundation to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in the East Lake community.
Early learning changes lives and is critical to success in school and beyond. Collectively, East Lake’s Early Learning partners are committed to supporting families in The Villages of East Lake and the East Lake and Kirkwood Communities in creating a foundation for academic success.
The Cox Pre-K Program, East Lake Early Learning Academy and Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Center offer high-quality early learning opportunities that provide a strong foundation in literacy.
Operating in partnership with the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy and the Atlanta Speech School, students enter Kindergarten ready to learn to read and are on a path to read-to-learn by third grade. The Rollins Center also provides professional development to teachers and staff through coaching and mentoring, modeling, co-teaching, guided observations and feedback sessions. This successful partnership and technique serve as a model for quality early language and literacy instruction across Georgia.
The East Lake Early Learning Difference
- Neighborhood-based education centers
- High-quality early learning curricular programs
- Extended day and extended year
- Professional development for teachers and staff
- Strong connection between schools and families
- Nurturing environments that foster learning
2021 Impact
- 298 students served including 54 from The Villages of East Lake
- 57 students attended East Lake Early Learning Academy or Sheltering Arms East Lake on scholarship