Boston, MA, Sept. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education today announced 10 finalists for its 2024 Zaentz Early Education Innovation Challenge. The finalists will pitch their ideas at Harvard Graduate School of Education on October 29, 2024, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. EDT, and the winners will receive a cash prize.

Now in its fifth year, the Challenge is a contest that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of early education. “Every year, we’re inspired and humbled by the applicants to the Zaentz Innovation Challenge, who demonstrate such creativity and dedication in their efforts to transform the practice of early education, strengthen early education settings and systems, and make early education more equitable and more responsive to family’s and communities’ needs,” said Nonie Lesaux, co-director of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “It’s always hard to narrow it down to just a handful of finalists.”

Stephanie Jones, the Initiative’s other co-director, added, “It’s always so rewarding to see the finalists apply the spirit of entrepreneurship to solving the most pressing problems in early education.”

The finalists were chosen from approximately 90 ideas submitted by organizations and individuals across the United States. Most applications came from individuals and teams affiliated with early learning centers and schools, state and local early education agencies, education nonprofits, policy and advocacy organizations, educational technology entrepreneurs, and universities.

Applicants to the 2024 Zaentz Early Education Innovation Challenge submitted to one of two tracks: the Envision track, for those who have an idea and are seeking to try it out in the real world, and the Accelerate track, for those who have already tried out their idea and are seeking to evaluate it, refine it, and/or expand its reach. Below are the 10 finalists, five in each track.

Envision Track Finalists

• ARChoice Tri-Share (Little Rock, AR): A cost-sharing model that splits the costs of high-quality early childhood care evenly between employees, employers, and Joyfully Engaged Learning, a nonprofit that supports early learning programs in Arkansas.
• The CLASS Companion (Dallas, TX): A voice-interactive tool designed to simulate realistic classroom interactions so that teachers can practice high-quality engagement with students, as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), a widely used tool for assessing classroom quality.
• The Experiential Track (Boone, NC): A bachelor’s degree program at Appalachian State University with a concentration in child development, which places students in a high-quality early childhood education lab school to gain hands-on teaching experience.
• The NEST Parent CDA Program (New Orleans, LA): A Child Development Associate certificate program for high school students to study and intern at an on-campus early childhood program that serves teenage parents, earning their certification before their graduation. 
• Read and Rise (Columbus, OH): A mobile literacy lab that brings hands-on learning stations and a structured literacy curriculum to underserved neighborhoods and child care facilities.
   

Accelerate Track Finalists

• Alliance CREDIBLE (Englewood, CO): A software application designed to cut down on administrative barriers to help early educators receive federal reimbursement for nutritious meals through the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
• Friends Center for Children Teacher Housing Initiative (New Haven, CT): A program that offers eligible early educators free housing as a salaried benefit to increase teacher compensation and support a pathway to financial security.
• Logatot (Cape Coral, FL): A voice-command technology, tailored for child care providers, designed to streamline administrative and compliance task completion.
• Transforming Early Educator Workforce Pathways Through Registered Apprenticeship (Boston, MA): A program that offers current lead teachers and aspiring leaders an opportunity to pursue a director certification through a professional development pathway comprising four key formal training components.
• YWCA Childcare Business Incubator (New Britain, CT): A child care center that serves as an incubator for family child care entrepreneurs to learn the skills needed to run and sustain their own programs.

On Oct. 29, a panel of expert judges and a live audience at the Harvard Graduate School of Education will evaluate the pitches and determine the Challenge winners. For those unable to attend the event, the finalists’ pitches will also be live-streamed online.

For more information on the Zaentz Early Education Innovation Challenge, and to find the live-stream link in the coming weeks, please visit https://zaentz.gse.harvard.edu/innovation-challenge/

About The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative
The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) promotes the knowledge, professional learning, and collective action necessary to cultivate optimal early learning environments and experiences. The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative is supported by a $35.5 million gift from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, one of the largest gifts ever given to a university for advancing early childhood education.