Following the Science Upstream: EarlyBird App Identifies Children with Reading Challenges

During this May 5, 2020 Emerging Models webinar, Michelle Knapik of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation moderated a conversation about the EarlyBird screening app and how it leverages neuroscience to identify and support children who will likely struggle with reading.   

Carla Small of EarlyBird Education and Dr. Nadine Gaab of Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School shared how they collaborated with others to produce EarlyBird when Small was leading the Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Small introduced EarlyBird, a 20-minute, tablet-based game that can be used to identify children who are at risk of reading challenges while they are still in pre-K — before they learn to read. After the assessment, EarlyBird provides teachers with individualized data and resources to help them address the issues it uncovers. Because it is child-administered, a teacher can use it to assess an entire class in a few hours.

Gaab shared the science behind EarlyBird, explaining how the current “wait-to-fail” approach that diagnoses children with dyslexia and other reading challenges in second or third grade results in children receiving supports when that support is less effective and more expensive. She explained how comprehensive early-risk screening coupled with evidence-based responses can result in lower rates of reading challenges and improved reading outcomes for children with diagnoses. EarlyBird captures information about six major literacy milestones: phonological awareness, phonological short-term memory, rapid automatized naming, letter (sound) knowledge, vocabulary and oral listening comprehension.

Since developing EarlyBird, the partners have been piloting it in a number of schools, including the Weymouth Public Schools where Jennifer Curtis-Whipple is superintendent. Curtis-Whipple shared her district’s experiences with EarlyBird, how the screener aligns with the district’s overall literacy efforts, the impact it was having on students and teacher feedback. 

Alexis Bivens shared how the Tremaine Foundation has partnered with other funders to develop and launch EarlyBird, explaining how the foundation views early identification as being a critical component of the Early Learning Eco-System that supports children and families. She discussed how the current school closures caused by COVID-19 underscore the importance of screening tools to identify children needing additional support. She also invited other funders to invest in scaling EarlyBird and supporting ongoing research and evaluation efforts.