The Bring Learning to All Initiative is expanding its reach in the San Francisco Bay Area, providing families throughout the Bay Area with free home access to ABCmouse Early Learning Academy via public libraries. Local families can now “check out” ABCmouse accounts for four weeks at a time from the San José Public Library, San Mateo County Libraries, Contra Costa County Library, and 13 other library systems.
Bring Learning to All is a Tides Foundation initiative that works to help close the access and achievement gaps in education by providing research-validated digital education resources to young learners, with a focus on low-income families.
Through Bring Learning to All, libraries are providing families free at-home access to the research-validated ABCmouse curriculum, including more than 10,000 ABCmouse Learning Activities (hundreds available in Spanish), several standalone mobile apps that can be used without internet connectivity, and digital assessments. The program is designed to increase school readiness and reading proficiency and can be accessed by up to three children per family. Libraries also receive physical books for each branch, training for librarians on the use of digital early education resources, and support for family outreach and education.
“The Bring Learning to All initiative is a huge benefit for our families. Providing the tools parents need to help their child succeed in school is one of our priorities,” said Jill Bourne, City Librarian for the San José Public Library. “Now families will have the opportunity to be more proactive in their child’s education by having access to this program from the comfort of their own home.”
According to The Nation’s Report Card, two out of every three children in the U.S. are not proficient in reading by the time they reach fourth grade. Bring Learning to All seeks to change that by partnering with libraries that play a critical role in serving at-risk children and by providing effective educational resources that build on classroom instruction at home.
So far, thousands of children in the Bay Area have accessed ABCmouse through Bring Learning to All, completing hundreds of thousands of ABCmouse Learning Activities, averaging 15 Learning Activities per week. Assessment data shows that children using ABCmouse through this program are averaging 20% growth in literacy and math skills after one month. Importantly, research shows that similar levels of ABCmouse usage help prevent a “summer slide” in reading and significantly increase academic growth in literacy and math.
As part of the Bring Learning to All expansion, three high-need library locations are providing tablets with mobile broadband for patrons to check out with ABCmouse accounts. “I love the format of ABCmouse! The kids really enjoy working on their lessons and the credits they earn!” said one Bay Area library patron. “My 7-year-old grandchild has become an excellent reader!”
To learn more about Bring Learning to All, including how to become a partner, please email Contact@BringLearningtoAll.org.