All eyes on pre-k when Arne Duncan and U.S. business leaders... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

All eyes on pre-k when Arne Duncan and U.S. business leaders... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

All eyes on pre-k when Arne Duncan and U.S. business leaders converge here Monday 

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President Barack Obama uses a spy glass to play with a young girl at College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center during a visit to Decatur Schools earlier this year. On Monday, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will attend a conference where the value of pre-k will again be highlighted. JOHNNY CRAWFORD / JCRAWFORD@AJC.COM

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By Maureen Downey

Stephanie Blank is the chairman of the board of directors of GEEARS, the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students. Carol Tome is the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Services of The Home Depot. 

They wrote this guest column to highlight Monday's 2013 National Business Leader Summit in Atlanta where U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will discuss the importance of investment in early learning to strengthen the economy and global competitiveness. 

 The summit, hosted by ReadyNation-America’s Promise Alliance and the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS), will bring together business executives and public officials to discuss support for early learning to build the nation’s workforce and strengthen the economy. 

  By Stephanie Blank and Carol Tome

Having been involved with the home improvement industry for many years, we have learned that there is most certainly a right way to construct a building. And the part you don’t see – the foundation – is actually the most critical in ensuring a home that is solid, level and without structural defects.

The exact same thing can be said about building a prepared student who is ready for success in