Starting Small, Thinking Big: Voting in the Classroom and Beyond at Educare Atlanta

For early childhood champions specifically, voting is a powerful way to ensure policies and funding meet the needs of our communities and build a future where children and families thrive.

Educare Atlanta knows this well; that’s why they recently hosted an advocacy event to connect children, parents, families and community partners around the topic of voting.

The first seeds for Educare Atlanta’s Speak Up Advocacy 101 day were planted with the idea for a mock election – not one with parents or teachers, but with children in the classroom, where kids could vote on decisions like their favorite superhero, playtime activity, or snack for the day.

“Our conversation with kids was about how you can have a voice and vote for what you want,” says Educare Atlanta school director Johnnetta Miller. “[With this election] they understood how they could give an opinion about something important to them and see what happened as a result. It was about creating a situation they could understand, making it real for them, and starting the conversation early – and the earlier we start it, the longer it will go.”

While this mock election focused on broccoli versus Rice Krispies, reading a book versus playing videogames, and other day-to-day classroom decisions, the low-stakes results didn’t take away from the importance of the conversation. Instead, initial planning for the activity sparked an idea for how to carry the topic forward, this time with families.

“We were excited about the mock election, of course, but we needed to do more,” Miller says. “We wanted something for our families, so that while we’re talking about voting with our babies, we’re also having that conversation with parents.”

Located in the Mechanicsville neighborhood of Atlanta, Educare Atlanta is so close to Georgia’s Capitol building that it’s visible from the school and from many families’ homes. Yet, many Educare parents have never been there and aren’t registered to vote, or worse, feel like their voices don’t matter or their vote won’t make a difference. Georgia, like many other southern states, has a long history of voter suppression – but also grassroots efforts fighting for the right to vote.¹²

That work continue in many ways through efforts like Educare Atlanta’s family advocacy day. As plans for the mock election took shape and with an understanding of voting as a way to directly impact what decisions are made about things affecting their families, the Educare Atlanta team saw an opportunity.

“In meetings, our parents talk about things that are important to them all the time,” Miller shares. ‘We really wanted to make sure we made that connection and hone in on how powerful their voices can be, and how that starts with voting.”

That’s how the parent-focused part of the event came to life, where Educare Atlanta combined family engagement, voter registration and child-friendly fun all in one. Highlights from the event included the children’s mock election; a “Know Before You Go” session with Georgia election board officials focused on how to find out if you’re registered to vote, locating your polling place, and what to bring with you on Election Day; a resource fair with community partners; raffle prizes and a catered dinner; and even parents registering to vote right then and there!

“This experience really impress upon us that [voting] is something we have to focus on, not just for this election, but [as a way] to get your voice out in your community,” Miller emphasizes. “It’s not just about voting for who’s going to be president every four years. It’s who’s going to be on your school board, who your Congress representative is, who your judges are. It’s about understanding that elections impact what happens in your community, and why it’s so important to get involved. You have to make sure you are voting, not only for the president of the United States, but for the people who are making the decisions that affect your everyday life and your family as well.”

This family advocacy event is one piece of a much larger puzzle in how Educare Atlanta and other Educare schools across the country are partnering with families to build a brighter future.

“We don’t only provide quality education and care for our children, at the Educare Network or at Sheltering Arms. We help our parents do and be better as well,” Miller says. “Everything we do is to help [both] generations move forward, so that as our children leave us, we’ve set a foundation where our parents and families continue to strive [for more].”

Educare Atlanta’s commitment to supporting children and families’ civic engagement is part of our collective effort to lift up voices of families and providers during this important election season.

On October 15, 2024, Georgia voters set a new record for votes cast for the first day of early voting. In total, 305,900 votes had been cast in person on the first day, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s datahub. The previous record for first day early voting was 136,000 votes cast in 2020.³

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