In this way, we have achieved regional and statewide scaling successfully with high fidelity and consistently strong results. The end goal is to have each student ready for kindergarten. A+ for Upstart. Rick: What advice do you have for parents navigating sending their children to preschool programsperhaps for the first timeduring this pandemic? It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff. 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 poised for significant growth, with plans to reach 75,000 children annually by 2025. 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. Since its inception in Utah in 2009, Waterford Upstart has grown to serve over 90,000 children across 28 states. Monica Littlefield teaches reading skills to her first grade class at Eastern Elementary School in Washington, N.C., on May 23, 2022. Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more. 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). Children are required to use the program just 15 minutes a day, five days a week. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Parents also give Waterford Upstart high marks for empowering them as their childs first and most influential teacher. 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. The $2,000 cost per student is funded by generous philanthropic sponsors, state or local government, or federal grants in various places. Rick: How does signing up for Waterford Upstart work? Register to learn more. Create a free account to save your favorite articles, follow important topics, sign up for email newsletters, and more. Talk about investing in the future! We also provide written materials and activities to encourage parents and guardians to engage with their child and support their childs learning offline. LaTasha: We measure the success of family involvement by how regularly the child is using the program. Click the button below to download a Waterford Upstart flyer (PDF) to share with New Mexico families. Waterford Upstart delivers research-based, adaptive curriculum to children and families in need, measures results, and delivers. Students will use Waterfords comprehensive reading, math, and science curriculum in the classroom for 15 minutes a day, five days a. 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. 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. 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. 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. How will you make your high-dosage tutoring program sustainable for the long run? Rick: Waterford Upstart promises to provide mentorship for the students parents, beyond just teaching the students. Tutoring is here to stay. ET. Rick: Why offer a program like Waterford Upstart? What does this look like? The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Their language development has suffered. Preschool teachers share their ideas for promoting students' language growth. Because funding is limited, participation will be on a first come, first served basis and based on local, identified need. Our family coaches monitor childrens progress and proactively communicate with families to provide personalized support and motivation through phone calls, emails, and text messages. ET. Read more from this blog. Additionally, families have access to Waterford Mentor through their web browser and as a smartphone app. 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. 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. Try the Charter School Model, Why Putting the 'Science of Reading' Into Practice Is So Challenging, What Is LETRS? 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. 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. PO Drawer 5619 Santa Fe, NM 87502-5619 | Toll free: (800) 832-1321. Tue., August 09, 2022, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Tells us to redirect you here from any link to the Medical Home Portal's Nationwide site. Education policy maven Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute think tank offers straight talk on matters of policy, politics, research, and reform. LaTasha: Families can go online or call to register their qualifying child or childrenusually a four-year-oldfor Waterford Upstart. 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. From A Nation at Risk to CRT. Howd We Get Here? 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. Then, parents and guardians complete training on how to help their child be successful with Waterford Upstart, and children take a short preprogram assessment. Waterford Upstart uses adaptive software to provide online early education support to four-year-olds. Children use Waterford Upstarts adaptive reading software just 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Rick: You recently partnered with Mississippi to help address gaps in preschool education caused by the pandemic. How does that work? 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. Here's How Teachers Can Help, Babies Are Saying Less Since the Pandemic: Why That's Concerning. Waterford Reading Academy (In-School Solution). Help ensure the success of your SEL program with guidance for building capacity to support implementation at every tier of your MTSS. Register on the website: https://www.waterfordupstart.org/register/Waterford Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization. Rick: What do you count as successful parent involvement? 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 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. You are off to a great start.. 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. 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). It is funded by the state with a limited number of seats available at no cost. We check on them, see how they are doing, and answer any questions they might have. 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. 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 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. Finally, efficacy is measured through external evaluations. 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. Rick Hess is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the director of the think tanks Education Policy Studies. Because funding is limited, participation will be on a first come, first served basis and based on local, identified need.