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ERIC Number: ED622108
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Nov
Pages: 25
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Utah Preparing Students Today for a Rewarding Tomorrow (UPSTART) Report. Report to the Education Interim Committee [2020]
Hernandez, Jimmy; Call, Todd; Throndsen, Jennifer; Nielsen, Darin
Utah State Board of Education
The Waterford Institute recognizes that nearly half of the country's 4-years-olds face socioeconomic barriers that keep them from early education. Utah Preparing Students Today for a Rewarding Tomorrow (UPSTART) is a home-based computer preschool program developed and provided by Waterford to prepare young children for school entry and future academic success. The program offers in-home, early education access to families who are unserved and often lower income by providing support, technology, and internet where needed. The Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI), has prepared this report for the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) to document UPSTART's eleventh year of implementation with students enrolled during the 2019-2020 program year. Due to the spring 2020 onset of the coronavirus, which resulted in statewide social distancing, shelter in place rules and the suspension of year-end state Preschool Exit Exam Profile testing, ETI (in partnership with the UPSTART Advisory Committee) amended the annual evaluation design to present results for program implementation only. Over the past eleven years, program enrollment has continually increased, reaching families in urban and rural areas throughout the state of Utah. The 2019-20 program year was no exception with Year 11 students comprising 15,125 preschoolers, up slightly from the previous year's 14,125. Among the key findings for this year's evaluation are: (1) Beginning in the 2019-2020 program year, the graduation requirement was raised from 16.67 total hours to 25 hours. With this new criterion, 80% of the students in Cohort 11 successfully graduated from the program; (2) Students in Cohort 11 used the UPSTART program for an average of 46 hours during the program year. Students who were UPSTART graduates used the program for an average of 53 hours; and (3) Thirty-two percent of children enrolled in UPSTART Cohort 11 were from families with incomes less than 185% of the federal poverty level. The majority of enrolled children were White (81%) and English speaking (97%). [For the 2019 report, see ED622107.]
Utah State Board of Education. 250 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. Tel: 801-538-7500; Web site: https://www.schools.utah.gov/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Utah State Board of Education (USBE); Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI)
Identifiers - Location: Utah
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A