The 2018 Cox Corporate Social Responsibility Report CEI_2018_CSR_Report | Page 43

Early Childhood
Education
Early Childhood Education
A child’s early years are crucial in setting the course for a
successful future. The Foundation believes that helping
children succeed from an early age is one of the best
ways to build strong communities. That’s why the
Foundation is devoted to ensuring that we set as many
children as possible on the path to positive, fulfilling lives.
Changing Lives Through Language
We all know the important role that healthy foods can
play in a child’s development. But what about the words
they hear in their earliest years? Emerging research
stresses the value of a rich “language diet” in early
childhood. According to national studies, children who
hear fewer words from birth through age four are at a
disadvantage in the development of vocabulary and
reading skills in elementary school. The ability to read
by third grade is a key predictor of later academic
success — yet many children are at risk of missing
this milestone.
To address this issue, the James M. Cox Foundation is
involved in a multiyear partnership to make proven
educational approaches and training related to language
and literacy available to teachers of young children
everywhere. Since 2014, the Foundation has invested
more than $10 million in the Atlanta Speech School’s
development of an online professional development
platform for early childhood educators in Georgia. This
resource, known as the Cox Campus, provides practical
strategies to improve vocabulary, critical thinking,
imagination and problem solving in infants and young
children. Site content is developed in collaboration with
the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy, the Atlanta
Speech School’s professional development arm, and
Drew Charter School, which serves as a research and
design site for the program.
Enhancements continue with new courses on brain
development in childhood and training on how to
empower parents and other adults to become
conversational partners with children.
The content is available online for free, removing both
physical and financial barriers to teacher development.
The platform now has more than 50,000 members,
including 75 percent of early childhood educators in the
state of Georgia, as well as users from all 50 U.S. states
and 42 other countries.
JAMES M. COX FOUNDATION
CHARITABLE GIVING
$26.1M
2018
$24.7M
2017
$109.2M
total contributions,
last five years

Cox Enterprises, Inc. 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Report
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