For more information, contact:
Ivan Ross, Senior Senior Marketing Manager
ivanross@lena.org
In Partnership with Klingenstein Philanthropies, LENA will bring its “talk pedometer” technology to 300 children.
Washington, D.C. — Klingenstein Philanthropies and the nonprofit organization LENA have announced a partnership to bring LENA’s one-of-a-kind “talk pedometer” technology to over 50 child care settings in Washington, D.C. In addition, LENA will conduct an evaluation comparing the language environments of family child care settings to those of child care centers, assessing the social and emotional health of the children in participating settings.
LENA’s “talk pedometer” technology, called the LENA device, is a wearable recorder that collects a full day of a child’s audio environment. Klingenstein Philanthropies awarded LENA a $150,000 grant to implement LENA Grow™ in family child care (“FCC”) settings and child care center classrooms in Washington. LENA Grow is a research-based professional development program that couples the LENA device with regular coaching sessions to help child care providers improve the language development of the children in their care over the course of 10 weeks. LENA has set a goal of impacting 100,000 children annually by 2024, which would set the stage for the organization to continue improving efficiencies on the way to serving the millions of infants and toddlers around the world who would benefit from richer language environments.
Once a recording has been made, LENA’s software translates the audio from its LENA devices into data-rich, actionable reports for teachers, child care providers, and parents. The reports include information on the number of adult words, child vocalizations, and back-and-forth interactions, or conversational turns, between adults and children. This objective feedback helps adults to better understand children’s language needs and to more effectively adapt their communication strategies. Research shows that conversational turns between adults and very
young children are one of the most predictive metrics of child outcomes and school readiness. The amount of conversation children experience during the first few years of life is related to their brain structure and function, as well as their IQ in adolescence.
“LENA’s capacity to truly move the needle of early childhood outcomes aligns so well with our approach of focusing resources where they can have the greatest impact,” said Elliot Brenner, Executive Director of Klingenstein Philanthropies. “We are excited to establish this relationship.” In addition to providing professional development for child care providers and creating a model for wider implementation of LENA’s technology in Washington, LENA will conduct an evaluation comparing the language environments of family child care settings to those of child care centers. A recent report published by LENA, Inside Early Talk, revealed disparities between how many back-and-forth conversational turns children experience in the two settings:
- In center-based care, children experience an average of 15 conversational turns per hour, well below LENA’s benchmark of 40 conversational turns per hour. 20% of children in child care centers are in language isolation, experiencing fewer than five turns per hour for the vast majority of their day.
- In family child care environments, on the other hand, children experience an average of 25 conversational turns per hour.
Beyond comparing early talk data, LENA will help participating child care providers implement a tool to measure socio-emotional outcomes to provide additional insights into child growth and further facilitate the comparison between family child care settings and center-based settings. Anyone who would like to learn more about the partnership or to inquire about participating in the project can reach out to Katharine Corell, LENA’s Principal of Philanthropic Partnerships, at KatharineCorrell@lena.org.
About LENA
LENA is a national nonprofit on a mission to transform children’s futures through early talk technology and data-driven programs. Used by researchers, clinicians, community organizations, and early childhood education organizations all over the world, LENA technology measures a child’s language environment and provides vital feedback to parents and professionals. LENA envisions a world where every child benefits from positive relationships full of responsive interactions.
About Klingenstein Philanthropies
The Klingenstein Philanthropies seek to improve lives by advancing research and training in neuroscience, children’s health, medicine, and education. It is comprised of three foundations whose interests reflect the passions and experiences of the Klingenstein family. Although the focus of each foundation differs, together they aim to improve every person’s health, well-being, and education, particularly those most in need. For more information, please visit klingenstein.org