A recent public opinion poll commissioned by the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students reveals strong support among Georgians for early education initiatives.

The poll was conducted prior to last week’s State of the Union address, in which President Obama once again called for universal access to Pre-K education for America’s youngest learners.

Conducted by The Schapiro Group, the poll reveals that more than 85 percent of Georgians believe all Georgia children should have access to early childhood education and that 68 percent of voters believe the state should put the same level of priority on education of children ages zero to five as it does on K-12 education. 

“Support for early childhood education is solid across all categories of Georgia voters,” said Mindy Binderman, executive director of GEEARS. “The need for high quality early education to ensure that Georgia’s students are prepared to succeed when they enter kindergarten is an issue that crosses geographic, economic and party lines.

“Georgians understand that students who are better prepared for kindergarten are better prepared for life.”

Other insights from the poll, which was conducted in November with 400 registered Georgia voters:

· 85 percent of surveyed Georgians believe that a child who receives early childhood education services before age five is more likely to succeed in grade school, high school and beyond;

· Voters consider improving early childhood education to be an important issue facing the state, ranking it higher than improving access to healthcare;

· 66 percent of Georgians would be open to paying higher taxes if they knew the money would be used to make the necessary investments to ensure that all children arrive at school ready to learn and succeed;

· Female voters are more likely to agree that the state should put the same level of priority on education for children age zero to five as it does on K-12 education;

· Younger voters and those from Metro Atlanta are more open to paying higher taxes to improve early childhood education; and

· Black voters and younger voters are more likely to agree that funding for early childhood education should be targeted to those who are struggling to make ends meet.

Among poll participants, 64 percent had children 18 or under in their household, 54 percent were male, 34 percent identified as democrats, 36 percent as republicans, and 26 percent as independents.