If you’ve been following our casual coverage of the Mayor’s Challenge, you’ll be happy to know that the winners have been announced!
Providence, RI takes home the Grand Prize for its idea titled “Providence Talks.” Children raised in low-income households are prone to a word gap that can impede their success in school. In fact, by age four, these children will have heard 30 million fewer words than their peers in middle- and high- income homes. Providence Talks seeks to close the word gap and ensure that every child enters kindergarten at the appropriate literary benchmark. By means of a small recording device that measures the number of words a child (ages zero to four) hears per day, the free, confidential, and voluntary program for low-income families assists with language acquisition and provides coaching and tools based on the data delivered by the recording device. Providence Talks is an empowering child development program that will ensure all children enter school capable of academic success.
Here are the four additional winners and their idea titles:
Chicago, IL: The Chicago SmartData Platform
Houston, TX: One Bin for All
Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Social Enterprise Partnership
Santa Monica, CA: The Wellbeing Project
Congratulations to the Winners!