Our family coaches monitor childrens progress and proactively communicate with families to provide personalized support and motivation through phone calls, emails, and text messages. Finally, state, district, and community leaders see Waterford Upstart as an important and affordable way to ensure their children enter kindergarten ready to learn. Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide elementary, middle, high school and more. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. With funds made available by the legislature and allocated to ECECD, additional early learning providers have an opportunity to participate not cost. We do not accept unsolicited requests for funding. Waterford Upstart on Providing Remote Learning to 90,000 Pre-K Kids, Did I Accurately Guess the Fate of the Common Core? LaTasha: Research has shown us that children who come to school ready to learn are far less likely to drop out, have trouble with the law, or experience intergenerational poverty. LaTasha: We measure the success of family involvement by how regularly the child is using the program. The Utah UPSTART pilot program - funded by the state's legislature after a competitive RFP process - has reached more than 7,000 children in Utah children and provided computers and Internet to homes without them. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. A five year-old receives his diploma at a Waterford Upstart graduation ceremony for parents and their children in Mississippi. The flyer is in English and Spanish. Try the Charter School Model, Why Putting the 'Science of Reading' Into Practice Is So Challenging, What Is LETRS? Howd We Get Here? The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. How will you make your high-dosage tutoring program sustainable for the long run? In 2022, Waterford Upstart served approximately 45,000 children through state and district funding, a Federal Education, Innovation and Research (EIR) Grant, and philanthropically funded programs, up from 16,000 children three years ago. Get the latest education news delivered to your inbox daily. The New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) continues to look at innovative ways to increase access and quality to early learning opportunities. The pilot has also proven that UPSTART is cost effective. Schools will receive an evidence-based program that automatically adapts for personalized learning, includes age-appropriate assessments and lessons, and ensures mastery of foundational. A 2017 randomized-controlled trial (RCT) by the Evaluation and Training Institute showed strong empirical evidence of Waterford Upstarts effectiveness in preparing preschool students to enter kindergarten relative to a control group (effect sizes of 0.42 and 0.38 in literacy and math, respectively; please see this study for more information on interpreting effect sizes in education). A study by the Center for American Progress and NIERR concluded that low-income children are, on average, 11 months behind their higher-income peers in math and 13 months behind in reading when they enter kindergarten. It is funded by the state with a limited number of seats available at no cost. Pilot Study Suggests Trying Robotic Toys, How To Make Tutoring Sustainable: Strategies for Effective District-Wide Programs, When SEL Curriculum Is Not Enough: Integrating Social-Emotional Behavior Supports in MTSS, Professional Wellness Strategies to Enhance Student Learning and Live YourBest Life, Pandemic Kids Need Early Language Support. Many children of color and children from low-income families enter kindergarten without the academic skills they need to succeed. Rick: You recently partnered with Mississippi to help address gaps in preschool education caused by the pandemic. Rick: How does signing up for Waterford Upstart work? Knowing that, the goal of Waterford Upstart is to ensure that every child, regardless of geography, socioeconomic status, or background, enjoys the success of arriving to their first classroom with the confidence to learn. Id love to see every one of our regions in North Dakota have a robust presence of Waterford Upstart., Waterford Upstart is making a tremendous difference, said the superintendent of Marion County School District in South Carolina. over 14,000 Waterford Upstart parents surveyed. Waterford.org then works directly with eligible families who opt in to our program. LaTasha: We definitely recognize that parents and guardians are their childs first teacher and support families every step of the way. Children use Waterford Upstarts adaptive reading software just 15 minutes a day, five days a week. We use cookies to view site usage statistics. Waterford Upstart uses adaptive software to provide online early education support to four-year-olds. The opinions expressed in Rick Hess Straight Up are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications. Families who dont have a computer are provided with one, and, if needed, families are provided with internet access for the duration of the program as well. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. On average, the cost per participant was one-fifth that of Head Start and center-based PreK. Instead, we seek to improve access to early-childhood education, particularly where access to transportation hinders access; where families choose not to send young children to site-based preschool; where English is not the primary household language; where children need an additional cognitive boost; where children are wait listed for site-based programs; or where children and their families face the technology gap because they have never had access to a computer. Talk about investing in the future! LaTasha: Our overall measure of success is that students and families are prepared to succeed in kindergarten, and Waterford Upstart actually measures efficacy in a few ways. The program is implemented by Waterford.org and helps children develop the foundational academic and cognitive skills they need for school success. How to Make College More Affordable? In contrast, in Indiana, which also spends state dollars to fund Waterford Upstart, qualifying families must have incomes no more than 137 percent of the federal poverty level. 2022 Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. Teachers receive reports on how much talk and interaction each child experiences in a day of recording. LaTasha: We offer every family a full scholarship, so there is no cost for families. Help ensure the success of your SEL program with guidance for building capacity to support implementation at every tier of your MTSS. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. LaTasha: My advice for them is to have an academic component that they can use at home, so that even if their kids are not able to go every day to a brick-and-mortar preschool, theyre still in the habit of consistently learning. ET. The published results speak for themselves. And, obviously, families should also be teaching kids how to be safe when they go back into an in-person environment, especially since some of these kids wont realize they cant hug their friends just yet. This content is provided by our sponsor. Education policy maven Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute think tank offers straight talk on matters of policy, politics, research, and reform. Computers, internet, and instructional materials may be provided to those who are in need and/or qualify. Mississippis pilot, funded by the Governors Emergency Education Relief, is just one example of that. Their language development has suffered. A longitudinal study conducted by Evaluation and Training Institute showed that Upstart participants outperformed their non-Upstart peers on standard measures of literacy skills, like DIBELS and SAGE, through the 4th grade, the highest grade the students had achieved at the time of the study. Waterford Upstart delivers research-based, adaptive curriculum to children and families in need, measures results, and delivers. Rick: Why offer a program like Waterford Upstart? ET. It becomes a savings because you dont have to remediate or intervene [later on]. A Birmingham, Ala., preschool teacher works with a student wearing a "talk pedometer," which records child and adult vocalizations, as part of the school-based LENA Grow program. For example, in Utah, where were funded by the state, there is no income restriction on participation. Rick: What does the program cost for families? The software itself presents a wide range of multimedia-based activities in an adaptive sequence tailored to each students individual placement and their individual rate of growth. If not, some may qualify for use of a loaned computer and support for internet connectivity (based on income and family size.) Waterford UPSTART is aligned to the New Mexico Early Learning Guidelines: Birth through Kindergarten; Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework; CASEL Social and Emotional Learning Competencies; and endorsed by the Council of Administrators of Special Education. Waterford Upstart is a school readiness program that teaches preschool-age children basic skills they need in reading, math and science. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. You are off to a great start.. Rick: What advice do you have for parents navigating sending their children to preschool programsperhaps for the first timeduring this pandemic? Why One Training Is Dominating 'Science of Reading' Efforts, I Don't Have to Love My Students to Be a Good Teacher, Get a Very Early Start on Teaching Coding Skills. Since its inception in Utah in 2009, Waterford Upstart has grown to serve over 90,000 children across 28 states. Register on the website: https://www.waterfordupstart.org/register/Waterford Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization. Box 581289 Salt Lake City, Utah 84158, Utah Department of Health & Human Services, Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Children's Special Health Services, Childrens Medical Services/Children with Special Needs, New Mexico Department of Health, Rhode Island Title V/Maternal and Child Health Program. Rick: What do you count as successful parent involvement? Teachers will receive professional development and instructional coaching from a Waterford.org Implementation Specialist throughout the Implementation Specialists provide instruction on analyzing and interpreting Waterford data; using that data to create whole and small group learning opportunities; and aligning the program to existing resources and curricula. Waterford Reading Academy (In-School Solution). The same study concluded that Black and Latinx children are, on average, 9-11 months behind their white peers in math and 7-12 months behind in reading. What does this look like? It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff. Students work in a group to program a Bee-Bot while in their summer school class at Goliad Elementary School in Odessa, Texas. This Spotlight will help you examine the impact of early education programs on high school performance, evaluate pre-K programs, and more. Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles. Additionally, families have access to Waterford Mentor through their web browser and as a smartphone app. Because funding is limited, participation will be on a first come, first served basis and based on local, identified need. We also provide written materials and activities to encourage parents and guardians to engage with their child and support their childs learning offline. Tells us to redirect you here from any link to the Medical Home Portal's Nationwide site. ET. A+ for Upstart. Depending on the stipulations of any given funder, there may be an income limit to qualify to participate, but this is not always the case. How does that work? If we see a child is on the program five days a week and reaching milestones, we will typically send those parents messages of encouragement to keep up the good work. These partnerships help us work locally, in each community, to identify the families most in need of support. Finally, efficacy is measured through external evaluations. In this way, we have achieved regional and statewide scaling successfully with high fidelity and consistently strong results. Rick: Waterford Upstart promises to provide mentorship for the students parents, beyond just teaching the students. Read more from this blog. Coaches provide parents with advice on how to support their childs development. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Much of the support for universal preschool proceeds with a blind assurance that leaves difficult questions aside. The online program even makes the learning opportunity possible by providing Chromebooks and Internet access to rural communities to help prepare preschool-age children for success in kindergarten and beyond. Thu., August 04, 2022, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monica Littlefield teaches reading skills to her first grade class at Eastern Elementary School in Washington, N.C., on May 23, 2022. Register to learn more. Rick: How do you measure the efficacy of your offerings, and what does it mean for a child to successfully complete the program? Parents also give Waterford Upstart high marks for empowering them as their childs first and most influential teacher. I spoke with Dr. LaTasha Hadley, Waterford Upstarts vice president of state partnerships, about the program and its work, especially in the face of the challenges posed by COVID-19. The program consists of adaptive software for children and coaching for parents all in the year before a child starts kindergarten, all at home, and all at no cost to families. We know parents are busy, so we encourage them to make Waterford Upstart a part of their daily routine so its not forgotten. Waterford Upstart is a shining example of how state and federal grant money can be put to incredibly good use. Because funding is limited, participation will be on a first come, first served basis and based on local, identified need. Waterford Upstart is poised for significant growth, with plans to reach 75,000 children annually by 2025. Rick Hess is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the director of the think tanks Education Policy Studies. With funds made available by the legislature and allocated to ECECD, additional early learning providers (including Head Start and Community-Based providers) have an opportunity to participate in either the home-based or school-based Waterford program at no cost. Children born in the pandemic have heard fewer words and conversations. Here's How Teachers Can Help, Babies Are Saying Less Since the Pandemic: Why That's Concerning. The $2,000 cost per student is funded by generous philanthropic sponsors, state or local government, or federal grants in various places. Independent assessments of UPSTART have shown that children who complete it are more likely to enter school at or above the level of their peers compared to a control group. Of over 14,000 Waterford Upstart parents surveyed, 97% said they became more aware of what their child needs to learn, and 94% said they were better prepared to support their childs education after participating in Waterford Upstart. Data also shows all children - regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic locale, and whether or not they had additional preschool - make important cognitive gains with the program. PO Drawer 5619 Santa Fe, NM 87502-5619 | Toll free: (800) 832-1321. This is absolutely what we have needed in North Dakota, said the state superintendent of North Dakota. You Be the Judge. From A Nation at Risk to CRT. Most families will participate for free. Children are required to use the program just 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Waterford Upstart is a program that helps all children develop the foundational literacy skills they need to be ready for kindergarten. Also, the software itself conducts ongoing assessment, then adapts and reinforces lessons to ensure a childs mastery of each skill encountered. It works as both a stand-alone program for the many children who do not have access to early childhood programs, or as a supplemental program for children whose centers want to boost their ability to engage families and support their childrens cognitive development. As the study points out, these achievement gaps are concerning: math and reading abilities at kindergarten entry predict later school success, and children who enter kindergarten already behind are unlikely to catch up. Students will use Waterfords comprehensive reading, math, and science curriculum in the classroom for 15 minutes a day, five days a. P.O. Create a free account to save your favorite articles, follow important topics, sign up for email newsletters, and more. This provides families with information about their childs usage and progress, as well as three weekly messages with personalized, targeted information and ideas to help them support their childs learning. Participants agree to use the program at home at least 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week. We also help families be better prepared to collaborate with the school staff once their student arrives at kindergarten by teaching them what their kids are supposed to know at that point. Consistency is important, too, because the efficacy of the program is based on students using the program for the required minutes per day. Preschool teachers share their ideas for promoting students' language growth. A longitudinal study released by the Utah State Office of Education demonstrated that these gains are lasting, with Waterford Upstart children outperforming their peers on state standardized tests in reading, math, and science through third grade (the highest grade the children had achieved at the time of the study). Plus, they even encourage only 15 minutes of screen time per day! Read-aloudslike the one Staci Pollock is teaching in a 2nd grade class at Lacy Elementary in Raleigh, N.C.introduce content knowledge and spur conversations among students who are still mastering reading fundamentals. LaTasha: Families can go online or call to register their qualifying child or childrenusually a four-year-oldfor Waterford Upstart. A randomized controlled trial conducted by the Utah state board of education found that Waterford Upstart was successful helping children develop key early-literacy skills, and we have a second trial underway as we speak. Waterford UPSTART is an in-home kindergarten readiness program that was created by the Utah State Legislature in 2009. For children residing in Utah, one year before they enter kindergarten. Must have a computer that meets minimum program specifications and access to high-speed internet. UPSTART is an at-home school readiness program that uses Waterford Institute's national-award-winning curriculum via adaptive software to provide preschool-age children in the state of Utah with individualized skills in pre-literacy, math and science. Speech Contest, Teacher Recruitment Scholarship for Diverse Students, New Teacher Required Professional Learning, New Teacher Induction Secondary Professional Learning Requirements, Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan, Lockout-Lockdown and Emergency Procedures, Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW), Age of Majority, Types of Support, Guardianship and Alternatives, The HUB of Professional Learning (DSD Canvas Catalog). With funds made available by the legislature and allocated to ECECD, additional early learning providers (including Head Start and Community-Based providers) have an opportunity to participate at no cost. Rigorous third-party evaluations demonstrate that Waterford Upstart closes these gaps and enables all children to enter kindergarten ready to learn and thrive. Tutoring is here to stay. We check on them, see how they are doing, and answer any questions they might have. LaTasha: Waterford Upstart is an in-home, technology-delivered school-readiness program that children use independently for 15 to 30 minutes each day, five days a week. Instructional strands include phonological awareness, comprehension and vocabulary, reading fluency, and language concepts. LaTasha: Waterford Upstart builds and expands community-based partnerships with groups like Excel by Five, school districts, Head Start, and other nonprofits to scale our program and provide early-childhood preparation at the state level. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Waterford Upstart is not intended to replace any early-childhood education or effort already in place. Wed., August 10, 2022, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Click the button below to download a Waterford Upstart flyer (PDF) to share with New Mexico families. Tue., August 09, 2022, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. The first is through measuring early-literacy skill gains, both overall and within subcategories, from the beginning to the end of the program using the computerized adaptive Waterford Assessment of Core Skills test. Then, parents and guardians complete training on how to help their child be successful with Waterford Upstart, and children take a short preprogram assessment. The end goal is to have each student ready for kindergarten. If our family coaches notice a child is not using the program regularly and is falling behind, those are the families we reach out to more. Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more. Title 1 Parent & Family Engagement Policy, Section 3 | Risk Management and Workplace Safety, Section 11 | Individual Rights and Responsibilities, Personalized Learning/Standard Based Grading, Head Start/Early Head Start and Title I Preschool, Mock Up Kindergarten Instructional Resources clone, Science with Engineering (SEEd) Standards and Resources, Online Textbooks, Instructional Materials, Software and App Approvals, Arts, Audio/Visual Technology and Communications, CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organizations), Davis Connect Canvas Courses for Teacher/Classroom Use, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Costing as little as $850 per family at scale, Waterford Upstart has been implemented effectively in a variety of urban, suburban, and rural contexts. Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more. An at-home, technology-based education program to prepare your preschooler for kindergarten. Waterford was founded with the mission of using technology and interactive learning to close early learning gaps because of a crucial research finding: children not caught up to their peers by grade 3 are four times less likely to graduate from high school. Reduce educator burnout with research-affirmed dailyroutines and strategiesthat enhance achievementofeducators and students alike. UPSTART forms a partnership with parents and caregivers to ensure that all children obtain the education necessary to start them on a path to success in school.