Business, philanthropic and government investments have contributed to Georgia’s commendable advancements in education.  Despite these improvements, Georgia continues to struggle in developing a literate, competent workforce.  Multigenerational low literacy combined with an increasingly technical and complex workplace underlies the crisis facing all Georgians, its business and economy.
 
To determine the size and severity of this issue, Deloitte conducted a study and produced a report entitled “The State of Literacy in Georgia: Action Needed for Georgia’s Thriving Workforce and Economy.” Created at the behest of Literacy For All (LFA), a donor advised fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the study revealed a number of alarming facts:
 

• 65 percent of Georgia’s third grade students are not reading at grade level;

• 1.7 million Georgia adults are low literate; and

• By 2018, 88 percent of all jobs in Georgia will require a high school diploma or post-secondary credential and over 820,000 Georgians will not qualify for these jobs.

In June 2017, responding to these facts, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce (GCC), the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) and LFA convened a business-led commission, the Georgia Literacy Commission (GLC), comprised of Chief Executive Officers, high-ranking business executives, and government agency heads from across the state. An advisory committee of experienced literacy and education stakeholders provided guidance, input and research to the Commission.  Together, the Commission and Advisory Committee conducted 11 public meetings during which state and private experts shared data-driven content relating to every age learner in order to explore the lifecycle of low literacy, understand root causes and motivation for positive change, and identify a blueprint for sustainable, practical, aligned, and actionable solutions that could be executed at the state and local levels.

Thus far, the process has resulted in a framework for ongoing convening and exploration of the topic, as well as immediately actionable recommendations found in this Preliminary Analysis and Review.

The Commission’s current (and likely future) recommendations embody a homegrown and multigenerational approach to statewide literacy. They not only amplify and leverage existing successful efforts underway in the literacy space, but also unify various parties to fill in gaps, address missed opportunities, and incubate and implement new ideas to end low literacy of all ages.