Waterford.org seeks to blend the best aspects of learning science, mentoring relationships, and innovative technologies to form community, school, and home programs that deliver excellence and equity for all learners. They believe all children deserve success from the start. Waterford UPSTART provides four-year-old children access to the highest form of academic support in their early education at no cost to participants: personalized family education and coaching, a new computer and Internet if needed, and adaptive educational software. The average Waterford UPSTART graduate enters kindergarten reading at nearly a first-grade level and maintains their gains for years to come.
Why We Invested
There are 2.2 million children in the United States without access to publicly funded early education, and over half of low-income children have no preschool option at all. Access barriers like program availability, quality, transportation, and cost disproportionately affect low-income, minority, and rural learners. Further, parent choice leads many families to want to keep their children at home until they enter kindergarten. Waterford UPSTART meets these gaps by providing an at-home early learning program that focuses on reading, math, and science, and most importantly, empowers parents as the child’s first and most influential educator.
Every child deserves access to high-quality school readiness experiences. We’re honored to be part of expanding access to as many children as possible, particularly at-risk children and rural children who lack access to other early education solutions. Waterford UPSTART is uniquely positioned to partner with and support parents in order to provide all children the best possible opportunity for academic success.
Benjamin Heuston, CEO, Waterford.org