It’s no easy task for early childhood leaders to strategically disburse funds from PDG B-5, CCDBG, CLSD, and ARPA grants into the hands of LEAs and CCR&Rs. In fact, the alphabet soup of early childhood education funding streams can be a bit hard to digest, so to speak. In this webinar, state leaders will tell the stories of how and why they invested in initiatives for statewide implementation, as well as their visions for further expansion and impact.
LENA - Building brains through early talk
Webinars (3)
ReadPlayTalk: How one school district in Texas is prioritizing birth-to-five
Mesquite Independent School District, serving around 40,000 students in the suburbs of Dallas, has developed a successful early literacy initiative powered by city-wide dedication to a unified vision: School readiness and early literacy are vital for long-term success, and they start at birth.
Libraries as innovators in early childhood education
Learn how two library systems have reconceptualized early learning in their communities and how they’ve incorporated LENA Start into their visions as early learning innovators.
Blog Posts (24)
Scaling a statewide early childhood quality initiative in Ohio
In a new case study, we explore the how/why/when/where of Ohio’s statewide implementation of the LENA Grow professional development program.
State leaders on sustaining and scaling quality initiatives in early childhood education: Five lessons learned
Lesson #1: States can fund quality initiatives without sacrificing their commitment to access. … What else did we learn from state leaders in Ohio and Tennessee about scalable early childhood initiatives?
Conversational turns linked to literacy skills: LENA participants nearly twice as likely to be kindergarten-ready
Children who participated in a LENA program were nearly two times more likely to demonstrate school readiness in language and literacy, compared to demographically matched controls.
Highlights from a Qualitative Evaluation of LENA Grow in Hartford: Nine Takeaways
Researchers from the University of Hartford highlight nine key insights from Hartford’s qualitative evaluation of the LENA Grow program in Hartford, Conn.
LENA Grow may help keep early educators in the profession, new evidence suggests
There’s strong evidence to suggest that LENA Grow, the evidence-based professional development program that helps early childhood educators create equitable language environments, has a beneficial impact on teacher retention.
How Early Head Start/Head Start grantees use LENA Grow to meet performance standards during federal review
“The federal review team was impressed that LENA Grow was something we were doing for our teachers in the classroom,” said Jon-Vincent Jamir, PACT’s Head Start Area Manager and LENA Grow coach.
LENA Grow goes statewide in Tennessee
“The TN CCR&R sees the LENA Grow program as an important piece of the puzzle in proper language and socio-emotional development for children in Tennessee,” said Heather Hicks, Director of the TN CCR&R.
Coaching for impact in Sarasota County: Increased TS GOLD® and CLASS® scores
An organization in Florida saw some amazing results in their very first LENA Grow classrooms. They want those results to have a positive impact on the whole community.
“Mae Mae’s House”: One teacher’s story behind an evaluation of LENA Grow in Milwaukee
In this video, a long-time preschool teacher in Milwaukee reflects on LENA Grow and what motivates her dedication to the profession.
Bridging research and practice in early childhood education: SproutFive’s independent evaluation of LENA Grow
True to their commitment to bridging research and practice, SproutFive embarked on an independent evaluation of LENA Grow soon after implementing the program.
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.
Kindergarten readiness, parent education, and conversational turns: A statistically significant correlation in a rural South Carolina school district
A study out of Cherokee County, S.C., has found a correlation between parent participation in LENA programs and higher scores on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment.
Rural school districts: Challenges, opportunities, and LENA
Every rural school district has its defining features and challenges, but they all share a common opportunity: boosting early talk and getting a jump start on school readiness.
Virginia Beach adapts to virtual programming to boost child outcomes, reduce caregiver stress
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the team in Virginia Beach knew that they couldn’t afford to wait to transition to virtual programming for families and teachers.
Case study: Why three organizations pivoted to offer virtual LENA Start classes
When the pandemic hit, community organizations found their regular programming for families abruptly cut off. Learn why three pivoted to virtual.
State of Colorado helps FCC providers build confidence, self-esteem, and relationships with children with LENA Grow
The professional development program has been built into Colorado’s statewide initiative to improve quality in infant and toddler care.
Early Head Start centers in Tennessee use LENA programs to improve early literacy
Porter-Leath uses LENA programs to boost early literacy and connect teachers and families.
CLASS Scores Increase After Using LENA Grow at The Primary School
Early childhood teachers at The Primary School in East Palo Alto, Calif., used LENA Grow professional development to better understand and improve interactions in their classrooms.
Virtual LENA Start classes help parents and teachers to connect and collaborate
At Best Memories Academy in Orlando, parents and teachers are partnering together virtually to create rich early childhood language environments for children.
Q&A with Emma Quigan: How COMET Auckland is using LENA with indigenous families in New Zealand
In New Zealand, LENA is a tool to empower whānau (families) to connect to culture and each other.
Universities use LENA to put early childhood research into action
Universities that use LENA are putting research into action, producing valuable data, and creating hands-on learning opportunities for students and faculty.
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Articles (34)
Wyndham Vale Childcare Centre in Australian First to Use Technology to Boost Language Development in Early Childhood
For the first time, an Australian child care center is using LENA Grow professional development with early childhood teachers.
Phoebe Child Development Center performs above national average
For a local child care center in Georgia, using LENA Grow has boosted high-quality caregiving and led to measurable differences in both teachers and students.
Impact Series: Agape’s Thrive by Five program enhances children’s conversation skills in preparation for kindergarten
A new program is helping to boost adult-child conversation in Memphis.
After One City Experiments With Toddlers Wearing Recorders and Sees the Number of Words They Hear Grow 50%, 5 More Mayors Will Pilot Innovative ‘Word Gap’ 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.
Connecticut Families Extra: More Conversation equals more Brain Growth
Scientists are researching how kids’ brains respond to words and what families can do to help language development.
Does speaking to your baby boost brain development? Virginia Beach uses “talk pedometers” to help parents find out
A growing body of research about early childhood education and cognitive development suggests that chatting with children, particularly from birth to age 3, is crucial. That thinking is at the heart of the program that Virginia Beach is now expanding with a nearly $450,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Positive Parenting: Conversations
Scientists are researching how kids’ brains respond to words and what families can do to help language development.
What’s 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.
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.
Bloomberg cites Providence’s 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.
A smarter way to start
Smart Start of Davie County offers residents and early childhood educators free programs, including LENA Home, as it seeks to ensure quality childcare, education, health, and family support programs for all Davie children birth to 5
LENA Start program teaches parents about benefits of early speech patterns in children
Parents can learn more about their children's early language development with LENA’s “talk pedometer” technology as part of the LENA Start program in Marathon County.
‘Just Talk’: In Wausau, Technology Program Helps Parents Boost Babies’ Language Skills
Parents can learn more about their children's early language development with LENA’s “talk pedometer” technology as part of the LENA Start program in Marathon County.
Device capturing words you say to your child growing in our area
LENA Start kicked off in Marathon County last year, but now it’s expanding, helping even more parents than before.
HCS School Readiness Shares New Success Results of Early Start LENA Program
Parents can learn more about their children's early language development with LENA’s “talk pedometer” technology as part of the LENA Start program in Marathon County.
Huntsville parenting program creating stronger student readers
Young children in Huntsville are becoming stronger readers because of the LENA Start parenting program.
Brilliant Detroit opening 7 new neighborhood sites this year in expansion push
A new nonprofit in Detroit is expanding initiatives focused on kindergarten readiness, early literacy, and family stability in high-need neighborhoods.
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.
New language program could increase school readiness in Spartanburg County children
A new program from the Spartanburg County Public Library and partners could help improve kindergarten readiness countywide thanks to two grants from the Mary Black Foundation and LENA.
$20K grant helps Catholic preschool teach tots to read for life
Through a partnership with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and LENA, families in Philadelphia are able to use LENA early learning technology.
Muscatine library to expand on early talk programs
Musser Public Library in Muscatine, Iowa, is launching a new LENA Start program in spring 2019.
New program helping Memphis parents, children fight illiteracy and poverty
A new program in Memphis, Tennessee, is teaching moms the importance of early communication with their child.
This growing program is addressing Detroit’s literacy crisis — just don’t say it’s filling a ‘word gap’
A small program that started in Detroit last year with an innovative plan to improve infants’ language skills has proved promising and is preparing to expand to serve more than 150 families.
Gift of gab: Frayser children reach for kindergarten readiness before they learn to talk
Community partners in Tennessee join forces to offer LENA Start to build community and school readiness skills.
Early childhood language program launches second session in Wichita Falls
LENA Solutions expands to Wichita Falls and other Texan cities in order to reduce talk gaps and improve school readiness for young children.
Early education program addresses R.I. youth literacy
The Brown Daily Herald looks at the history of the Providence Talks program and its expansion made possible through additional funding pledged by the Providence Mayor's Office.
Parents learn how to talk to their babies in new Virginia Beach program
Families and program staff share their experiences participating in the LENA Start program through Virginia Beach GrowSmart.
A high-tech approach to boost language skills starts with infants in Detroit
Detroit organizations are investing in LENA in order to improve school readiness within the community.
St. Vrain Valley, Longmont’s OUR Center partner to tackle the early childhood ‘word gap’
The Outreach United Resource (OUR) Center is using the LENA Start program to give parents the early language development resources they need.
Central Iowa literacy program for babies expands this fall
Small Talk Story Country is a growing outreach project partnering with LENA to give caregivers measurable results about how they communicate with their children.
The ‘word gap’ and 1 city’s plan to close it
Rhode Island’s Providence Talks is partnering with LENA to provide parents with resources to understand how they can improve their young child’s literacy.
City of Providence Launches “Providence Talks”
Providence, Rhode Island won Grand Prize in the 2012-2013 Bloomberg Philanthropies' “Mayors Challenge” 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 “Providence Talks” 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.