Waterford Upstart is available to Montana families for free thanks to federal grant

(Helena, MT) March 23, 2021 — For the second year, Montana families can prepare their children for kindergarten at home, at no cost. The United States Department of Education awarded the nonprofit organization Waterford.org an Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Expansion Grant with a goal of finding solutions to rural educational challenges in five western states through the Waterford Upstart program.

Waterford Upstart is an in-home, early education program that prepares four-year-old children for kindergarten. Families are given the tools they need to be their child’s first and most influential teachers, including a computer and internet at no cost. The program provides positive parent-child interactions while delivering personalized, online instruction 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Families are also given support through a family coach as well as tips to continue engaging their children offline. On average, 92% of children who participate in Waterford Upstart are ready for kindergarten—compared to a 65% average nationwide and 48% for low-income children.

Early results show those Montana children already using Waterford Upstart are seeing success. Through the first 26 weeks of the 2020–2021 pilot program, the average overall reading score for students was 83.79. A score of 80 or higher within the Waterford Early Reading Program represents mastery, which is the goal of the cognitively based Waterford Upstart program. Additionally, 83.5% of students taking part in Waterford Upstart’s Early Math and Science program had an overall math and science score of 80 or higher.

“In the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, an at-home solution like Waterford Upstart has proven to be not only effective in educating our youngest learners, but also a necessity for many families,” said Claudia Miner, Waterford Upstart executive director and cofounder. “With Waterford Upstart, Montana families don’t have to worry about the learning loss associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. They can feel confident their children will walk into their first day of kindergarten prepared and ready to learn.”

Families who have children heading to kindergarten in 2022 can apply by going to www.waterfordupstart.org. Spots are limited.

Waterford.org

Waterford.org is an early education nonprofit with a mission to achieve universal literacy for children through equity, access, and parent empowerment. Waterford develops educational tools that guide students along adaptive, individualized learning paths toward fluent reading and lifelong learning. We empower parents as a child’s first teacher, and we support teachers in taking the right actions at the right time for their students. In total, Waterford.org serves more than 300,000 children every year through all of our programs, and that number is continually growing.

Waterford Upstart

Waterford Upstart helps four-year-old children prepare for school at home and at no cost. Children develop foundational reading and social-emotional skills, and families are empowered to become their child’s first and most influential teachers. The children use adaptive software just 15 minutes a day, five days a week in the year before they start school. Waterford Upstart also fuels family involvement in their child’s early education through family coaches and fun educational activities parents can complete with their children offline. Waterford Upstart has been rigorously tested and proven, earning the program a federal EIR grant and the title of a TED Audacious project. Independent research shows the average Waterford Upstart graduate enters kindergarten reading at nearly a first-grade level and maintains those gains through the fourth grade.