Financial aid for the Sesame Street

In the field of education grants and financial aid are generally associated with college students or direct funding of schools in order to improve classroom education. The Education Department has started to approach a much earlier stage of education through a so to say – non-traditional outlet, as in educational television programming and other public media. Ayesha D. Edwards has been part of the Ready To Learn program since 2007 and is focusing on making sure that children amongst the age of two through eight gain the literacy skills they need in order to improve or stay on top of what they learn in kindergarten, at home and at school. “At the end of the day, these grants help ensure kids receive an equitable education and improve schools and school districts.”

On October 18th 2010, this mission became more tangible than before, raising awareness and pushing for an improvement in many children’s education. The Education Department announced that the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc., in partnership with Callaway Digital Arts and the Michael Cohen Group LLC, were awarded a $30 million Ready to Learn grant for the project LAMP, Learning Apps Media Partnership. This project is going to specifically target and support low-income families, as they are able to use this source of information without any additional costs. Listed below are an indepth description of the program and a personal statement of HITN CEO Jose Rogdriguez.

The 2010 Ready to Learn grants include outreach monies in addition to program funding. Project LAMP outreach activities will leverage wireless network technology, social media, and community-based organizations to engage children, parents, caregivers, and teachers in New York, Connecticut, and Texas the first year alone. Over the life of the grant, Project LAMP will partner for exchange of ideas, opinions, and results with: 1) persistently low achieving schools, 2) a media production program at an accredited postsecondary institution, and 3) a teacher preparation program at an accredited postsecondary institution focused on early childhood education.

“Our goal is to help close the achievement gap. As a former educator, I know it’s important to create quality content that helps childcare providers, parents, grandparents, and teachers prepare kids for kindergarten and reinforce reading and math through elementary school,” said HITN President and CEO Jose Luis Rodriguez. “Many kids are already reading and watching stories about Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends and Nova the Robot. Now they can interact, direct the story, and learn via a variety of platforms. I am also excited about producing a new product specifically for ELL.  This will be student-centered learning and family support at its best.”