Digital App Helps to Boost Vocabulary of English Learners in Napa Preschools

In Napa County, where most children enrolled in state-subsidized preschool are native Spanish speakers, educators introduced an app-based program to build the vocabularies of their youngest learners, particularly English learners.

That was six years ago, and the growth in children’s language skills in both English and Spanish since then prompted educators to offer the program free to all parents of preschoolers in Napa County regardless of income level, becoming the first county in the country to implement a countywide digital early literacy program.

Parents can download the app on their mobile phones, tablets or computers and have access to the digital library of books and games online and offline. This way children have access to the same materials at home and when they are attending preschool programs run by local school districts in Napa County. The connection between home and school helps to reinforce the vocabulary lessons taught in the classroom.

Barbara Nemko, superintendent of the Napa County Office of Education, said introducing the app has helped to “level the playing field” for all preschoolers and to reach those students who were struggling with a limited vocabulary and most at risk of falling behind. Many English learners were entering preschool barely speaking either English or Spanish, Nemko said.

“This 30 million word gap translates to children coming in with a deficit of two to three years, and the research shows that deficit stays with them through all of the 12 grades,” Nemko said. “And if we are ever going to achieve social equity, we have to give these children opportunities,” referring to many of the preschoolers who are learning to speak both Spanish and English at the same time.

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