MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Folks across Georgia are mourning the state's former First Lady Sandra Deal, who died earlier this week.
One place where she's being remembered is Georgia College's Sandra Dunagan Deal Early Language and Literacy Center.
13WMAZ’s Jessica Cha visited Deal's alma mater in Milledgeville to hear about her love for education and how the center carries out her legacy.
"She just exuded this love of children, of people. She made you feel so special when you were around,” says Holley Roberts, Associate Provost of Academic Affairs.
Roberts says Deal got her bachelor's and master's in early education at Georgia College and taught for 15 years. She says Deal believed in every child and their right to an education and to literacy.
"It was the foundation to everything else. Once children learned to read, they could explore different words, explore different ideas,” Roberts explains. “I think she thought that was so important for a human.”.
Roberts says that Deal was dedicated to supporting the campus and regularly visited. Deal was also on the foundation’s board of trustees, so in 2017, the college opened its early language and literacy center in Deal's honor.
She commented all the time that she was so not worthy, and all we could think of was, 'Who else could it be named after?'" Roberts says.
Executive director of the center, Theresa Magpuri-Lavell says that during Deal’s time as first lady, she would visit the center and read to children. Magpuri-Lavell says that Deal used to say that she felt right at home there.
Magpuri-Lavell says they carry on the deal's legacy through their center now, "So our goal is to propel all of Georgia's children to read proficiently by the end of third grade.”
She says their program targets kids from birth to age eight. They work with educators and community leaders through professional learning and continuous research to pass on to their students, and reaching out to families and investing in them.
"We have seen an increase from 39% to about 42%, so we've seen in Georgia-- based off of the Milestones tests-- that there is an increase. Now we have every two out of every five children who are reading proficiently,” Magpuri-Lavell explains.
She says that Deal’s death leaves a void in Georgia College but…
“She instilled in us this mission. She instilled in us the importance of this work and that will carry with us, and we are inspired and we will remain steadfast to continue because of how important it was for her,” she says.
Of course, Sandra Deal's husband, Nathan, was governor from 2009 to 2017. The Deal family will host a celebration of her life this Saturday in Gainesville. It's happening at 2 p.m. at Lanier Technical College.
There will also be a private memorial for the family.