Hear the individual stories of how LENA Grow has made a difference at every level of the early childhood education system, and learn about the big picture of LENA’s vision for LENA Grow as it reaches more and more communities.
LENA - Building brains through early talk
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Blog Posts (24)
Making a difference: We reached our goal to impact 10,000 children in 2019!
Because of our work, more than 10,000 children experienced 14 million brain-building conversational turns this year.
Providence Talks replication: Your questions answered!
We’re answering questions submitted during last week’s webinar about early childhood innovation at the municipal level.
Five cities will replicate Providence Talks, offering LENA programs for parents and teachers citywide
Five cities have been selected to replicate Providence Talks — one of the first early language initiatives implemented at the municipal level — with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Let’s NOT stop talking about talk.
At LENA, we believe that adult caregivers have the power to make a difference in a child’s life. Helping parents – and early childhood teachers – use that power to boost vocabulary and literacy is a good thing.
Initial longitudinal evaluation results: Huntsville children whose parents participated in LENA Start have stronger literacy skills two years later
Promising new data show that children whose families participated in LENA Start, a parent-group program focused on increasing early talk, demonstrated considerably higher early literacy scores and were far more likely to be at an advanced literacy level entering pre-K.
Early learning classrooms in Fort Worth ISD using LENA Grow increase CLASS® scores
Classrooms that used LENA Grow, an experiential professional development program for early childhood teachers, increased scores in key CLASS domains compared to classrooms that did not use the program, a pre-post evaluation shows.
Matching funds support launch of new LENA Start sites nationwide
Over the last two years, LENA Start has quickly expanded into 35 communities across the United States and Canada. Read about our newest community partners launching LENA Start this fall through our ongoing matching funds opportunity.
Thoughts on 15 years and the staying power of LENA
Reflecting on the past 15 years, Judi and I are struck once again by how much the team at LENA has achieved drawing from Terry’s first insights and ideas.
Meet the new LENA Grow, redesigned for even greater impact!
The new LENA Grow is refreshed, streamlined, and ready to bring an early language focus to your professional development initiative for early childhood teachers.
Putting a bow on 2018 and looking forward to 2019
2018 has been an incredible year for LENA with new research, strong partnerships, and 10 million conversational turns! We’re thoroughly excited about the road ahead and all that 2019 will bring as we work toward our vision of all children entering school prepared for success.
LENA Start Reflections & Funding Announcement
LENA has the opportunity to offer matching funds through the generosity of philanthropists who are interested in expanding the reach of LENA Start. Applications are now open for 2019 LENA Start Matching Funds!
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.
New research says how much you talk with babies is linked to their IQ in adolescence
10-year longitudinal study published in Pediatrics correlates interactive talk in early childhood with later cognitive outcomes.
LENA Grow: Lessons from our learning site
We launched a learning site to gain hands-on experience implementing our professional development program for early childhood teachers. Read what we learned about establishing trust, engaging staff, and what’s next.
Introducing LENA Home 2.0 – Easier to deliver and more accessible!
The May 2018 release of LENA Home, which adds an early language focus to home visiting initiatives, includes easier access to key metrics, a fully revised coaching guide, and a refreshed online library of print and video resources.
New report from Escambia County on LENA Grow Shows CLASS® Gains
Data from the first year of partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County (ELCEC) shows that classrooms using LENA Grow, our professional development program for early childhood educators, showed gains on CLASS® assessment scores.
LENA Launches Local “Learning Site” for LENA Grow
We’re excited to announce the first LENA Grow site in Colorado in partnership with the Aspen Center for Child Development, and this time LENA staff will be playing an active role in the coaching!
First Book Partnership Brings High-quality Books at Lower Cost
LENA is teaming up with First Book, a nonprofit working exclusively with programs and schools serving children in need to ensure they have access to top-quality books. Through First Book’s LENA Marketplace, partners can browse a curated collection of bilingual and wordless books.
Teachers, children benefit from LENA Grow Pilot with Teaching Strategies
During the four-month pilot, LENA technology was used to measure talk and provide objective feedback to early childhood educators in two early childhood classrooms in central Virginia. In one classroom, an impressive 87.5 percent of children experienced an increase in either adult words or conversational turns.
Just call us LENA
We’re excited to announce that we’re simplifying our name to LENA. This change reflects who we are and the work we’re doing to support parents, educators, and researchers in improving the language environments of children worldwide.
2017: Year in Review
This past year, we’ve seen the number of parents and caregivers focused on improving interactive talk increasing every day, and many have been putting into practice what they’ve learned through LENA-based solutions.
State of Georgia Adopts LENA Grow
The first of six new LENA Grow™ implementations nationwide, the program will serve 800 children in 16 centers across the state during the first year!
Colorado Home Intervention Program (CHIP) uses LENA SP to simplify program logistics statewide
The Colorado Home Intervention Program uses data from LENA SP to monitor language development in children who are deaf or hard of hearing and coach their parents to create a rich language environments.
LENA Start partners with school-readiness texting program to add continued support for parents after graduation
Parents who graduate from LENA Start will be enrolled in Ready4K, an evidence-based program which sends texts to parents with suggestions on how to increase interaction with children.
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Overdeck Family Foundation awards LENA $4,605,000 in general operating support
A three-year grant of $4,605,000 in general operating support to LENA to further their work at using coaching to improve the key outcome of early language development.