Georgia now has more than $50 million in the bank to promote and increase early childhood learning opportunities, with an overall goal of better preparing children for later academic success. The state qualified for $51.7 million from the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge, a competitive grant through federal departments of Education and Health and Human Services. Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, led by Commissioner Bobby Cagle, is the agency in charge of distributing the funds over the four-year grant period. “(We’re) just getting a good project management plan in place,” Cagle said about the next steps.