The effort to get a snapshot of kindergarten readiness is part of the National Survey of Children's Health, which collected information from thousands of parents and guardians about their child in five areas - early learning, motor skills, social-emotional development, self-regulation and health. The goal was to answer an overall question: Is your child ready for school? Readiness in California is on par with the nation's average, which also puts kindergarten readiness at two-thirds of 3- to 5-year-olds.
It opened my eyes, he says. I had heard stories, but it opened my eyes to the reality of what my dad faced growing up, the conditions. And you're fighting against the [odds]. If we're in a race with the rest of the world, you're starting further behind [in Togo] than, let's say, we are in Canada. So I thought to myself, if one day we can come back as a family, do something.
In a scene as idyllic as a Norman Rockwell painting, Elevate Tutoring fellow Mia Matute sat at a dining table with her 12-year-old tutee, Kaycie Grant, as golden hour light shone on the fractions of a paper worksheet as they worked together one Friday evening in the Oakland hills. Grant solved another problem in a series that had given her difficulty. Do you see the pattern, now? Matute asked.
While some learners attend top schools with endless resources, others face barriers such as poor infrastructure, unreliable electricity, no internet access, or the inability to afford even basic educational tools. The pandemic highlighted this divide even further because online learning became popular quickly, but those without devices or connectivity were left behind. At the same time, though, there's hope that eLearning can solve the global learning gap.