In spring 2015, several people from Florida’s Suncoast attended a Campaign for Grade-Level Reading conference in San Francisco. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn and share with representatives from many of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading communities from across the country. One of the most memorable events we experienced at the conference was being introduced to Vroom, a movement commissioned by the Bezos Family Foundation designed to share the science of early brain development in new ways so that all children have the chance to become thriving adults. Seeing this video was the catalyst to explore bringing this extraordinary program to the Suncoast region.
Vroom is inspired by extraordinary brain science and insights into how children build relationships and learn. The brain develops fastest in the first five years of life, making over 700 new neural connections per second. In addition, we know that positive early experiences build strong brain architecture, providing a foundation for all future learning. Vroom activates this science in the form of easy, actionable activities that parents can immediately put to use with their children.
In previous blog posts we’ve written about Vroom and the pilot program that has been occurring in Manatee and Sarasota counties over the past few months as part of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Over 300 families have been using the Vroom app and answering a series of surveys. The results are overwhelmingly positive and heartening.
Ninety-seven percent of the parents who answered the survey said that using the Vroom app gave them new skills and abilities. Ninety-seven percent of the parents also said that using the app gave their children new skills and abilities. When asked if they would recommend this app to other parents a whopping 99.7 % said yes.
Parents told us they believed that using the Vroom app was helping to enrich their parenting skills.
“It’s helping me interact with my kids more and at the same time teach them,” said one of the parent participants. “It helps me to be more aware of what I’m saying to him and how we are interacting through our our day.”
One parent went so far as to say, “Every parent needs to have Vroom. it makes learning fun and easy for both of the parents and child.”
The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Vroom pilot program has been successful beyond our expectations. We are delighted with the enthusiastic response from our pioneer families, and we look forward to introducing more and more parents to Vroom in the coming months.
photo credit: Day 83/365. The shoulder that will always be there. via photopin (license)
