LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) is a national nonprofit on a mission to transform early childhood education.
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LENA Grow
offers evidence-based professional development for early childhood educators.
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LENA Start
builds school readiness and strengthens families with parent-group classes.
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LENA SP
offers reliable, detailed language environment data in research and clinical applications.
In Colorado, LENA has reached 6k children and 1k early childhood educators since 2016, and LENA technology has recorded more than 8.4 million conversational turns.
Colorado implemented LENA Grow through its Expanding Quality in Infant Toddler Care (EQIT) initiative in 2020. EQIT-trained coaches at regional Early Childhood Councils (ECCs) offer coaching supports to family childcare providers by using LENA data and coaching content. LENA partners with the EQIT program manager to train EQIT coaches across the state, develop alignments with the state QRIS, and analyze and report on data generated by the LENA system. LENA also partners with leadership and coaches at the individual ECCs to provide technical assistance for high-fidelity implementation of LENA Grow, effective use of LENA data, and provider engagement.
Teachers earn professional development hours that are required for teacher credentialing and Colorado Shines. LENA Grow 1 Essentials is approved for 4.5 hours and LENA Grow 2 Insights is approved for 3.5 Hours in the Colorado Professional Development Information System (PDIS).
LENA has crosswalks with Head Start, CLASS, The Pyramid Model, ZERO TO THREE, and more!
"It became clear that the fit of LENA Grow was perfect for us. Our values encourage us first to value infant/toddler early care educators. This model says ‘You caregivers, what you’re already doing in your day, you’re doing it – we just want to put words and numbers around it and give it back to you in a way that’s readable.'"
“This has been described by our coaches as like the sunshine and the light.”
Whether you're with a school district, CCR&R, state agency, library, university-community partnership, public health initiative, or any other organization dedicated to improving early childhood outcomes, we want to help you put your organization on the LENA map.
