With Back to School around the corner many families are facing question marks and difficult decisions, especially if it is a child’s first day.
There is a program designed to help those with younger children, and it’s called Waterford Upstart.
Waterford Upstart, is an at-home program that helps families ensure their child is ready for kindergarten.
The average Waterford Upstart graduate enters school reading at a nearly first grade level and the program has even received funding from the US Department of Education to help rural families. Here in our state, for example a bipartisan group of legislators funded an early learning pilot program, which was awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction to Waterford.org.
The program will provide an early learning solution in three urban and three rural school districts with persistent reading gaps: Green Bay Area Public School District, Racine Unified School District, Milwaukee Public Schools, Lac du Flambeau #1 School District, North Crawford School District, and nearest to us, Siren School District. The state will appropriate $500,000 in legislative funds annually for the program, while Waterford.org will provide a total of $500,000 in matching funds during the three-year contract period.
“We know that not all families have the ability access or resources to be able to have their child participate in a high-quality early childhood experience,” said Amy Shepherd, Director of Early Learning at Racine Unified School District. “Being able to offer all sorts of options, whether it’s in the classroom or virtually through Waterford Upstart, really opens up access community-wide to those high-quality early education experiences.”
Registration for Fall 2021 is now open, but spots are limited, and restrictions apply.
Curious about the details and if it’s right for you? CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.
