James_September-October_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 94
Monroe Mayor John Howard
thinks the way cities have to think,
in decades. “This isn’t just for today,
but for Monroe to thrive 10 to 30
years from now.”
This year the General Assembly passed the Georgia Early
Literacy Act of 2026 unanimously,
and the governor signed it in May.
It was House Speaker Jon Burns’
priority. The money went to literacy coaches, instructional materials,
screening and teacher preparation.
The plan it advances, Vision 2030,
sets out three principles: every
child a reader, every educator prepared, every community supported.
The first two is the state’s to build.
The third belongs to communities.
The Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, the
Get Georgia Reading Campaign,
and GMA through GeorgiaForward are creating the Georgia
Reads Community Collaborative to
help communities organize local
MONROE MAYOR JOHN HOWARD
GRAYSON MAYOR ALLISON WILKERSON
Larry Hanson is the CEO and executive director of the Georgia Municipal Association.
ROSWELL’S HISTORIC DISTRICT
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partnerships. Facilitator training
begins this fall. Four communities
will start a three-year process in
2027, with more added each year.
Local elected officials will lead
each community team.
The point is not another program, but collaboration. Cities,
school districts, libraries and employers are all working on this and
many of them have never sat down
together to coordinate efforts.
No literacy coach, however
good, reaches a child with no
books at home and an empty summer. That part cannot be legislated
from the Capitol. It happens in a
park, at a branch library or at a rec
center. Schools have the classroom.
Cities have what surrounds it.
Georgia’s cities intend to keep
showing up. Which is why you’ll see
mayors across Georgia sitting on
the floor reading to five-year-olds.
JAMES SEPTE M B E R/O C TO BE R 2 0 2 6
