Families with young children are facing exceptional challenges during the pandemic and need support now more than ever. At the same time, organizations are facing uncertainty in budgets and staffing, while also rapidly innovating and pivoting to virtual support. During this discussion, we’ll hear from an organization that has recently launched a new LENA Start program and another that has shifted their existing program from in-person to virtual. We’ll discuss why they took on a new program now, what was most challenging, and strategies for effective family engagement in a virtual context.
Webinars (6)
LENA for Libraries
Join us for a brief overview of how libraries can incorporate LENA programs into their offerings for patrons. We’ll explore how other libraries are using LENA programs and share about benefits and positive results they’ve experienced.
Introduction to LENA Start
Join us to learn more about the effectiveness and ease of implementation of LENA Start, a parent group model designed to support increased early language development and interaction.
Integrating LENA Home into Early Head Start Programs
Learn how two different Early Head Start programs integrated LENA into their supports for families in this webinar. Through LENA Home, which embraces a trauma-informed approach, home visitors are able to use data to individualize their coaching and meet families where they are.
Family Resiliency and Early Language: Leveraging a Public Health Lens With Interactive-Talk Initiatives to Improve Child Outcomes
This webinar leveraged expert perspectives from medical practitioners in the field to explore how helping families to increase communication can help build family resiliency and protective factors.
Implementing a new community program: What we’ve learned in the first five years of LENA Start
In 2015, we launched LENA Start, a program for families that provides regular feedback from LENA technology to help increase adult-child interactive talk. Along the way, dedicated local partners have helped us to refine the curriculum, improve implementation, and evaluate success. In this webinar, Partner Success Manager Laura Camp will discuss lessons learned with panelists from two early partner organizations, Iowa State University and Huntsville City Schools.
Blog Posts (24)
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.
Study from University of Minnesota finds LENA Start fits well into community infrastructure
A new study on LENA Start from the University of Minnesota discovered that the program can be successfully implemented in community-based settings and that families enjoy participating.
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.
Results from parent survey confirm LENA Start is building stronger families
We analyzed data from 1,700 program participants and found that families report spending more time with children, talking more, and feeling more confident in their parenting abilities.
Q&A with Dr. Reem Khamis-Dakwar: Empowering families to reclaim minority languages with LENA Start
In New York City, LENA Start classes empowered Spanish- and Arabic-speaking families to value their native languages and maintain them across generations.
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.
Being culturally responsive to families during LENA Start classes and beyond
Pedro Mendez, birth to three program administrator at Denver Public Library, explains how his team prioritizes and responds to the needs of families in a culturally appropriate way.
Family child care provider used LENA Grow to connect with parents, children
For Pamela Robinson, a family child care provider in Georgia, using LENA Grow was an opportunity to show parents all the brain-building interaction that happens during the day in her home as she watches children.
What’s new in LENA Start 3.0
We’re excited to share that we’ve released a new version of our group program for parents and families.
Q&A with Dr. Jim Duggan: Why school districts should prioritize early childhood
Your questions on school readiness answered by the assistant superintendent of Bourbonnais 53 school district in Illinois.
Resources to help support your family and community during COVID-19
Amidst mounting pressures, we believe the core truths of LENA still apply: early talk is key, and caregivers are the secret sauce.
Q&A with Kai-ama Hamer: A discussion of family engagement and parent recruitment
Family engagement specialist Kai-ama Hamer shares strategies for involving parents in community and school-based programs.
Early Head Start programs use LENA Home to improve language and literacy outcomes
To help families and home visitors collaborate to improve language outcomes for children, many Early Head Start programs are using LENA technology in tandem with coaching during home visits.
Teachers and coaches share their experiences with LENA Grow
We’ve interviewed LENA Grow participants nationwide for an inside look at what it’s like to complete the professional development program for early childhood teachers.
Virginia Beach family increases two-generation, bilingual engagement with children through LENA Start
Taking LENA Start classes helped the Ochoa family learn to connect with their children in new ways.
Four strategies one nonprofit uses to boost literacy citywide
Calgary Reads, a nonprofit in Alberta, Canada, uses LENA Start as a core component of their citywide strategy to boost early literacy in Calgary.
Wisconsin health care company offers parenting classes as employee benefit
In a state where 77 percent of employers report having trouble finding employees, North Central Health Care is looking for an answer in an unexpected place: early childhood.
Clarke uses LENA technology to bridge home and school environments
Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, a listening and spoken language program for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, has recently incorporated LENA technology as a “standard of care” for all children enrolled in their early intervention program.
LENA Programming Aligns with Head Start’s Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework
Learn more about how LENA’s programs support key aspects of Head Start’s updated Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework.
10 Tips for Family Engagement
We’ve pulled together 10 strategies for connecting with families in your local community.
Frameworks for understanding effective family engagement
Working with families and communities is at the heart of what we do at LENA. This post provides an overview of well-established definitions of family engagement that inform our programs.
Parents gain confidence, skills, and awareness through LENA Start classes
A young couple from Texas share how LENA Start classes helped them gain confidence in their parenting skills after the birth of the first daughter.
Atlanta Speech School uses LENA for families of hard of hearing children
Staff from the Atlanta Speech School share how they use LENA feedback in coaching sessions with families to help increase their awareness and understanding of the audio environment in their home.
Parent Recruitment 101: A Q&A with Jennifer Calderon
A Recruitment Specialist shares her strategies for recruiting parents and families to participate in early childhood intervention programs.
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