'ReadyRosie' a bright spot in early learning


  • February 5, 2016
  • /   Reggie Dogan
  • /   education

Learning begins long before a child enters kindergarten.

Just as there is an achievement gap in school performance, there is a school readiness gap that separates disadvantaged children from their more affluent peers.

An initiative to promote kindergarten readiness in Reading, Penn., has shown great promise in closing the achievement gap by getting children ready to start school.

ReadyRosie promotes early learning by providing an online parent engagement tool that models fun and easy literacy and math activities for young children.

Kindergarten readiness is one of the 16 key metrics measured in the Studer Community Institute’s Pensacola Metro Dashboard. The Dashboard, created in collaboration with the University of West Florida, is a snapshot of the community’s economic, educational and social well-being.

In Escambia County, 66 percent of children show up for their first day of school ready for kindergarten.

While Santa Rosa has the third best rate of kindergarten readiness among the 67 counties in Florida, Escambia County ranks near the bottom.

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ReadyRosie, available in 18 states, including some Florida’s Hillsborough County, was launched in Reading and three other county school districts in the Pennsylvania area last year.

ReadyRosie provides daily videos to parents and caregivers that model everyday teachable moments to increase language, literacy and math skills in English and Spanish.

Parents, family members and caregivers can watch the videos on a mobile phone or a computer.

Early learning, at its bests, starts at home.

Parents are a child’s first and most important teacher, and initiatives like ReadyRosie can help parents succeed in their role.

Since many children start kindergarten without readiness skills or early childhood program experience, ReadyRosie exposes them to a rich vocabulary, fun activities and useful tools to enhance learning and improve school readiness.

Research shows that an investment in early education returns $17 for every dollar spent.

But a combination of poverty and policy hinders universal, simple access to high-quality pre-K.

Enabling early childhood education to happen both inside and outside the home improves flexibility for parents and can lower costs across the board.

Formative educational years starts at conception — there’s even evidence that reading to a fetus during gestation is beneficial.

Children who miss out on crucial stimulation can fall behind early, increasing the risk of falling between the cracks for life.

Awareness of this crucial learning period has never been higher. So, how should we capitalize on this opportunity to make a meaningful, smart investment in early childhood education?

Using technology like ReadyRosie that brings high quality early learning to every household is a good start.

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