In 2019, five U.S. cities were selected to receive a three-year grant to replicate the widely celebrated Providence Talks early literacy program. As the grant period draws to a close, we’re sharing their stories of what worked.Â
LENA - Building brains through early talk
Webinars (2)
Providence Talks Replication: Early Childhood Innovation at the Municipal Level
Providence Talks was one of the first early language initiatives implemented at the municipal level, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Learn how the program is being replicated in five more cities.
Blog Posts (11)
Improving early childhood through locally focused philanthropic partnerships
When it comes to accelerating the growth of LENA programs, place-based philanthropic support is critical.
Providence Talks Replication: A renewed commitment to quality child care in Virginia Beach
“Investing in our youngest citizens at birth and continuing to do so throughout their school years makes smart economic sense,” says Virginia Beach GrowSmart coordinator Barbara Lito.
Providence Talks Replication: From participant to program director in Detroit
Victoria Washington went from LENA Start participant to Director of Brilliant Detroit’s 313Speaks program.
Providence Talks Replication: Sustaining growth and “working toward yes” in Birmingham
Having nearly quadrupled their reach in just three years’ time, Birmingham Talks is focused on a bright future.
Providence Talks Replication: Building city-wide impact one family at a time in Hartford
Entering its fourth year, Hartford Talks is focusing on families. Here are two families’ LENA stories.
Q&A with Charlie Wolfson: Investing in children’s futures by investing in early talk
Arrow Impact is a private foundation supporting “initiatives that create pathways to economic prosperity for communities that have been marginalized and under-resourced.”
Q & A: How a philanthropic investment in LENA advanced the early childhood portfolio of the Overdeck Family Foundation
We sat down with Carly Roberts, Program Officer, Early Impact at Overdeck Family Foundation, to learn more about why the foundation invested in LENA and whatâs surprised them along the way.
Implementing statewide PD for ECE teachers in Mississippi: Questions from the webinar
We had the privilege of hosting a webinar featuring our partners in Mississippi to learn how they implemented LENA Grow at a statewide level. Here, we answer common questions that arose during the webinar.
Q&A with Katherine Bryan: Funding evidence-based programs to improve outcomes for children
Katherine Bryan is a Program Officer at the Urban Child Institute in Memphis. Here, she shares about why the institute invested in LENA programs and how early investments have the potential to move the needle on kindergarten readiness.
Providence Talks replication: Your questions answered!
Weâre answering questions submitted during last weekâs webinar about early childhood innovation at the municipal level.
Five cities will replicate Providence Talks, offering LENA programs for parents and teachers citywide
Five cities have been selected to replicate Providence Talks â one of the first early language initiatives implemented at the municipal level â with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Articles (19)
When Cities And Philanthropies Team Up, Good Things Happen
Birmingham Talks, which aims to make the city Americaâs sandbox for innovation in early childhood education, is using âtalk pedometersâ to close literacy gaps for thousands of children.
This early-education approach has cities everywhere talking
A profile of Birmingham Talks, one of the Providence Talks replication cities.
Birmingham Invests $1 Million in Early Childhood Education. What It Means
The City of Birmingham has made its largest investment ever in early childhood education, with a $1 million investment in Birmingham Talks, an initiative that provides curriculum, innovative technology, and personalized coaching to help build language skills in preschool-aged children.
Overdeck Family Foundation awards LENA $4,605,000 in general operating support
A three-year grant of $4,605,000 in general operating support to LENA to further their work at using coaching to improve the key outcome of early language development.
5 Top Takeaways from Catalyzing Connections: Promise Ventureâs Latest Entrepreneur Showcase
On June 10, Promise Venture Studio hosted a âShow +Tellâ of recent innovations in early childhood education, featuring LENA Grow.
Education Opportunity Project Spotlight: LENA
VOQAL supports LENA Grow to create a more equitable education system.
After One City Experiments With Toddlers Wearing Recorders and Sees the Number of Words They Hear Grow 50%, 5 More Mayors Will Pilot Innovative âWord Gapâ Program
Backed by promising research and a nearly $12 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Providence Talks model is expanding to five cities across the country.
Whatâs new in civic tech: Bloomberg Philanthropies replicates early childhood innovation program in five more cities
Bloomberg Philanthropies will replicate an innovative early childhood learning program in five new cities. The five new cities will get tech and software they need to replicate what was done with families in Providence, provided by LENA, a national nonprofit that works within the space.
Birmingham receives grant for talk-based early childhood learning program
The city of Birmingham was selected as one of five cities that will replicate a free, early childhood education program in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Bloomberg cites Providenceâs success in expanding childhood language program to 5 other cities
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that Birmingham, Alabama; Detroit; Hartford; Louisville and Virginia Beach are picking up the program.
Birmingham selected to partner with Bloomberg Philanthropies on early learning initiative
The city of Birmingham was selected as one of five cities that will replicate a free, early childhood education program in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Grantee Spotlight Blog Series: Spartanburg County Public Libraries
Spartanburg County Public Libraries, a 2019 Grantee of the Mary Black Foundation, will implement LENA Start classes and LENA Home coaching visits for local families to support early childhood development.
Foundation Awards $765,125 in Grants
The Mary Black Foundation awarded $56,700 to Spartanburg County Public Libraries to purchase LENA technology and implement LENA Start and LENA Home.
$20K grant helps Catholic preschool teach tots to read for life
Through a partnership with Childrenâs Hospital of Philadelphia and LENA, families in Philadelphia are able to use LENA early learning technology.
Providence Talks: This Nonprofit Is Giving Children a Start in Life
Providence Talks encourages âenhanced conversation,â where parents are asked to use complete sentences and elaborate using descriptive words when communicating with their child.
The ‘word gap’ and 1 city’s plan to close it
Rhode Islandâs Providence Talks is partnering with LENA to provide parents with resources to understand how they can improve their young childâs literacy.
How to end the word gap? Cities invest big in baby talk.
Cities like Providence, Rhode Island, are investing in early childhood talk programs like LENA to decrease the talk gap between children.
Providence Talks Graduation
An Al Jazeera piece highlights the Providence Talks program and shows families on graduation day.
City of Providence Launches “Providence Talks”
Providence, Rhode Island won Grand Prize in the 2012-2013 Bloomberg Philanthropies' âMayors Challengeâ competition with a proposal to use the LENA System for recording and reporting children's language environment as part of a pioneering initiative to improve language development in children ages 0-3. The âProvidence Talksâ program, which took first place in the competition against 20 finalists selected from 305 applicants, rolls out this spring with a pilot of 75 families, and is expected to grow to 2,000 families by 2015. The LENA donated its full participation in Providence Talks, including all equipment, software and staff time.