Partners include the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Nebraska Head Start; More than 1,300 students will participate across Nebraska
OMAHA, Neb.—A new $1.295 million early literacy grant will allow the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and statewide partners to use cutting-edge technology to help early educators develop language-rich learning environments for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
The Nebraska Department of Education recently approved the release of the first two years of funding, totaling $518,000, to the Buffett Institute as part of a $55 million Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The funding, the largest in NDE’s history, is intended to improve literacy skills from birth to Grade 12.
The Institute’s total grant award is expected to be $1.295 million over the next five years.
With this funding, the Buffett Institute will partner with the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the Nebraska Head Start Association, and seven Head Start programs located across Nebraska, impacting 1,377 children in urban and rural settings in the first two years of the grant.
The Head Start locations are:
- Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska
- Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska
- Central Nebraska Community Action Partnership, Inc.
- Educare Lincoln
- Educational Service Unit #13
- Head Start Child and Family Development Program, Inc. in central Nebraska
- Sarpy County/Educational Service Unit #3 Head Start
The organizations will partner with LENA to implement LENA Grow, a professional development program that uses innovative technology to measure and increase conversational turns—often referred to as serve-and-return interactions—between young children and educators. These interactions are crucial to early brain development and later literacy success.
Children, ages 0 to 5, will wear “talk pedometer” technology—small, private, and secure devices worn in a specially designed vest—that allows the device to count the number of conversational turns, adult words, and child vocalizations. Early educators can assess data from their own classrooms, receive tailored coaching, and learn new strategies to increase the back-and-forth interactions that build children’s vocabularies and early literacy skills.
"Strong language development, supported by warm, rich interactions with caregivers, is the foundation of literacy,” said Alexandra Daro, the Buffett Institute’s director of applied research and the principal investigator. “This grant allows us to invest in Head Start educators and the families they serve, empowering them to create language-rich environments that spark curiosity, deepen engagement, and set children—no matter their background—on a path to developing stronger reading and vocabulary skills.”
This approach aims to:
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Increase interactive talk between adults and children through literacy training for Head Start staff using evidence-based practices for all children—including those living in poverty, English learners, and children with disabilities
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Enhance family literacy for children birth to age five
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Strengthen connections between families, Head Start programs, and schools using the Institute’s School as Hub for Early Learning approach to align with statewide tools and resources
Paula Thompson, an associate professor of teacher education at UNK, is acting as co-principal investigator.
“This grant supports the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s ongoing work preparing the early childhood workforce, especially in rural areas,” Thompson said. “Collaborating on this project with the Buffett Institute allows us to expand this work throughout Nebraska and leverage the expertise found across the university system.”