Add as a preferred source on Google

Florida School District Provides Free Online Kindergarten-Readiness Program

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 05/26/20

About 500 Pre-K students in Escambia County will have access to a free online summer education program designed to help children make up for lost learning due to the coronavirus. The Waterford Upstart Summer Learning Path was purchased by the Escambia County School District in Florida and has been used at the elementary level. It will now be available throughout the summer months for preschoolers.

“It comes with evidence-based curriculum. So, this is not something free you’d get on the internet. This is high-quality programming that’s directly related to what students need to know as they’re starting kindergarten in August.” Kimberly Krupa, executive director of Achieve Escambia, a coalition of local agencies, told local WUWF.  

Students entering kindergarten should be able identify letters and letter sounds, shapes and colors and count to 20. Students may lose months of learning between Pre-K and kindergarten; the program hopes to bridge that gap.

The Waterford Upstart summer program includes educational songs, activities and curriculum for students and their families. Through Escambia County’s program, families will receive a free laptop and a Wi-Fi hotspot for the summer, according to Krupa.

The program runs through June 1 through August 31 and is designed to use between 20-25 minutes a day, five days a week for the duration of the summer. In addition, families get a weekly coaching call to help them understand what their children are learning.

Waterford is spending $9 million to provide the summer program in the following states: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas. The program is open to 3,000 students in Florida. Registration is now open for the program.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • textured paper collage shows a school building on fire as a fire truck sprays water into the flames

    Why a Fire Loss Is More than Flames

    We've all seen what fire damage can do to a property, but the types of damage building owners often encounter after a fire loss can exceed expectations. Having full awareness of the different forms of damage properties can sustain helps owners respond faster, reduce continued damage, and get back on the road to recovery in short order.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • UNL Kiewit Hall

    Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

    Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.

Digital Edition