The early education side of the house at Studer Community Institute has been busy.

This week we did a lot of work in testing the platform that will host the educational videos and a survey to track what new parents can learn about the power of talk in early brain development.

Slated to begin at Sacred Heart Hospital in May, the Newborn Intervention from the Thirty Million Words Initiative at the University of Chicago will help teach those important points.

The team in Chicago is working on building out a website and platform that will allow hearing screeners here on the Gulf Coast to use educational materials from the Midwest to help moms learn more about why it is so important to talk and interact early and often with their babies.

SCI's partnership with the University of Chicago gives us great pride. It also gives this community access to resources and research we wouldn't normally have.

Data from the initial trial of the video and survey — done with about 500 families in Chicago through two major hospitals — is in review for publication.

It aims to impact parents knowledge and beliefs about the role they can have on brain development, and it hopes to reduce the loss-to-follow up rate on hearing screen results.

Loss-to-follow up rate is a ratio of the number of children who do not pass a newborn hearing screening who also do not keep the follow-up appointment made to check the child again.

Pensacola moms will be part of the next wave of testing on the platform.

As excited as we are about our work with our friends in Chicago, SCI is working on other collaborations in the community with partners who are already here and who have been dedicated to the work of helping our youngest citizens find a good start in life.

We will be looking to work with other agencies, as well as foundations, philanthropies and other possible funders to support our efforts to create an Early Learning City moving forward.

I know good things will come from that work, not only for us, but also for our community.

Those collaborations are important to making our work in the community last.