Parent Connect

Parent Connect is a machine learning-assisted mobile application developed in partnership with Parents as Teachers National Center, the largest home visiting network in the US.  The goal is to which engagesprepare, encourages, and empowers parents as they helpso they can help their children build strong mathematical foundations in the early years. 

Along with reading, developing mathematical proficiency is arguably one of the most important skills for young children to learn, particularly with the growing importance of STEM in the world today. But student math scores worldwide remain alarmingly low, shutting many children out of future opportunities.

The project will supplement and extend traditional home visits with both On and off-screen math-related activities will soon be available for families to experience both in the home and out of doors.  Moreover, the PAT evidence-based "home visits" will be delivered via video conferencing if no PAT affiliate is nearby.

In world that is ever more focused on technology, future economic opportunities are increasingly tied to math skills. In fact, along with reading, math proficiency is arguably among the most important skills for a young child to learn, acting as the foundation virtually all further study in STEM.

A growing body of research shows that the ability to acquire strong math skills is highly correlated to exposure to math concepts before entering kindergarten. Unfortunately, due to lack of awareness and access, most children are not receiving the early preparation they require to be successful in mathematics, thus shutting them out of future opportunities before they've even started school.

Throughout the world, most families lack resources to be able to afford high-quality preschool. To change outcomes, solutions must therefore focus on empowering parents. But many parents feel ill-equipped to teach math and may even have 'math anxiety' that can be passed to their children. Many parents may also feel that they lack time to teach their children math.

To overcome these barriers, a solution must focus on making math accessible, understandable and fun and must show parents that everyday activities can be transformed into a math learning experience.

The population we are serving are parents of young children, ages 3-8.  Worldwide almost 400 million children fall into this age range (the majority of whom live in poverty), with nearly 70 million more children moving in and out of this age range every year.

Parent Connect is developed in association with Parents as Teachers, an international, non-profit organization that promotes early development, learning and health of young children by supporting and engaging their parents and caregivers.

Parents as Teachers currently serves over 300,000 families in six countries, 30% of whom are considered at-risk, including high poverty families, native communities, etc. Our relationship with PAT has given us tremendous access families in this age range as well as an arsenal of research on simple, effective methodologies for helping parents and caregivers teach their children.

Current research shows that parent engagement predicts a student’s academic success twice as much as family wealth. Our goal is to see that families worldwide become partners in their children's early education that will translate to considerably more success in school, opening up many economic opportunities in the future.

Parent Connect will help parents provide early learning opportunities for their children with the goal of leveling the playing field. The core of this initiative is a mobile learning application that helps to engage parents and provides them with simple, achievable math activities that can be incorporated into everyday life.

This project, recently funded by a National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I grant, will introduce several innovations, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence and data modeling. Data will be collected from in-app surveys repeated at regular intervals and these will be collated together with information provided by embedded analytics (learning data, time-on-task, frequency, etc.).

Deep learning approaches will be leveraged to explore relationships between content, engagement, and learning measures and to suggest follow-on activities predicted to improve these outcomes for each type of population. These and other instruments will describe and detect family engagement practices at more than just one point in time, with differing socio-economic groups, and in a variety of different geographies.

While machine-learning is obviously a processor-intensive technology, all such processing will take place in the cloud. Meanwhile, the mobile application used by families (and, crucially, the data passed back and forth to servers) will be relatively light, making this a very scalable technology that can potentially be used by anyone, anywhere in the world, with just basic mobile data connectivity.

Parent Connect provides children with a mathematics framework that is rich in concrete materials, and heavy with language and graphic organizers that expand and deepen their already- developed knowledge of the mathematical world around them. Children's stories and related activities encourage parent/child "math talk" to reach intended solutions. All activities are assessed by the child's parent by answering questions posed in online journals. 

Equally important is the degree of engagement, both on the part of parent and child – and if such engagement leads to continued participation. These data will come from observations, usage and performance data, patterns created by machine learning algorithms, exit interviews, and continued participation in math and new activities.

Data generated from all activities are automatically compared with developmental expectations and performance. Auto reports are generated for parent and Parent Educator. The assessments also serve as anecdotal records. Collecting information informally by observations will help parents (and teachers) discover children's accomplishments as well as their needs.

Our machine learning model will be developed to process data, to monitor parental and child engagement, and to predict which activities families are likely to enjoy while simultaneously targeting identified learning gaps.

Similar in premise to music discovery services which incorporate machine learning (specifically with user ratings and genre tags) to help users find music which they are likely to enjoy, the Parent Connect system will be used to help families discover fun, engaging math learning activities that they are eager to repeat.

During the initial phase of this project, we will focus primarily on exploring linkages between the various data that are collected during the project, searching for connections between various inputs (usage, student progress measures, user experience questionnaires, personal assessments, etc.) and outputs (persistence, positive learning outcomes).

Later, the team will pursue the development a machine learning model able to predict which activities are most likely to be successful for a particular family based on their ratings of previous activities and comparisons to other users who exhibit similar patterns. 

Research shows that parent engagement predicts a student’s academic success twice as much as family wealth, and further that digital outreach can help parents stay informed, become more involved, and be better positioned to help with their children's schoolwork—all factors driving better student engagement and performance. It is expected that with technology, considerably more adults will participate in parenting programs and for a longer duration.

Short Term - Families will display improved...
•  interaction with child that enhances interest in STEM activities
•  competence and confidence in parenting practices, home teaching strategies
•  more involvement in child’s overall education

Intermediate - Families will have better...
•  knowledge of age appropriate development in cognitive and critical thinking skills
•  ability to recognize expected milestones
•  a better understanding of mathematical concepts and problem-solving strategies

Long Term: Child will have improved school readiness and success through enhanced…
•  cognitive abilities and general mathematical understanding
•  positive attitudes and interest in the study of STEM subjects

As well, it is expected that Parents as Teachers and other organizations that incorporate Parent Connect within their programming will grow and positively affect significantly more children over time. Clearly more data can be gathered efficiently and at a considerable savings of administrative and teacher time.

Parent Connect is a product currently in development as part of a National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I grant. Over the course of the next year approximately 100 Parent Educators will be trained to deliver the program to roughly 3,500 parents.

Because Parents as Teachers has a well-developed, international network of affiliates through which we can distribute, we anticipate subsequent growth will be very rapid. As PAT graduates 300,000 families/year we believe it is not unrealistic that by year 5 we may have as many as 600,000 parent users who are either current PAT enrollees or past PAT members who continue their Parent Connect subscription for some time after leaving the program.

That figure also ignores the possibility of users beyond the existing PAT network. In fact, one purpose behind Parent Connect is specifically to engage families that cannot afford preschool or have access to a home visiting network like PAT. We believe that the research and reputation we will develop as a part of this project will help attract many young families, potentially from all over the world to the program. If that assumption proves to be true Parent Connect could reach tens- possibly hundreds of millions.

Because the Parent Connect technology experimental, the next year will focus largely on research and development with our initial test group of 3,500 families.

Nevertheless our goal is to move this product quickly to scale. Initially we will make  Parent Connect available to PAT's approximately 1600 affiliates, and thereafter we will open it up to the general public through a variety of channels (Apple App Store, Google Play, etc.)

In five years, our goal is global impact. As is probably evident from what we've said elsewhere in this application, we are developing Parent Connect in such a way as to maximize accessibility. We believe that every parent should have access to resources that can help their child succeed. We believe with time, effort and the help of SOLVE, we may be able to realize that goal.

While we have been awarded a major grant to develop Parent Connect and have raised capital in the past, funding is always a major factor in terms of what a startup can do, how many people it can reach, etc. However, we believe that once the prototype ready for testing and SOLVE's backing and exposure generated, investors will be attracted to our project.

While we have a strong development team, access to the resources that MIT can bring to bear in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning could be quite valuable.

As well, although our partner Parents as Teachers has operations in six countries, there is much we have to learn about the technical, legal, cultural and market barriers that exist in many of the countries we'd like to reach in the long run.

So far, we've had success addressing financial barriers. We are very active in applying for grant opportunities such as the NSF/SBIR grant, and have also had success in raising private capital.

As for technological barriers, we've been fortunate to attract skilled people to our team, not just in the area of software development, but also subject matter experts on parent education, child development, etc.

As for international access and experience, Parents as Teachers has affiliates in the UK, Singapore, Switzerland, Germany, Australia and Canada.  This is just beginning. Our founders both have significant overseas experience (both Bettie and Tyler taught in foreign countries; Bettie in Germany, Tyler in China) it's a big, big world out there and we'd be the first to admit we don't know everything.

The above notwithstanding, we will always need to keep growing our capacity in all these areas if we are going to be successful. We believe SOLVE could be instrumental in helping us get there.

MathBRIX, the proposal submitter, is an EdTech company in St. Louis, Missouri, funded in part by the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Program (NSF/SBIR). Its partner in the Parent Connect initiative is the Parents as Teachers National Center, a non-profit organization.  

Founded in 2016, MathBRIX's initial product is a cloud-delivered (SaaS) series of interactive games and activities designed to supplement in-school math instruction and help students, K-2, learn to think mathematically and problem-solve. The MathBRIX school subscription program was launched in October 2018 and is now in use by over 200 schools in 24 states and growing rapidly. 

The Parents as Teachers National Center is an international nonprofit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that promotes optimal early development, learning and health of young children by supporting and engaging their parents and caregivers. The internationally recognized network uses an evidence-based model to deliver parent education primarily through personal visits and group meetings. Parents are equipped with knowledge and resources to prepare their children, from prenatal through kindergarten, for a stronger start in life and greater success in school. Parents as Teachers programs operate in various settings, including schools, hospitals, faith-based organizations and housing communities.

MathBRIX:  Dr. Elizabeth Schwartz, CEO; Tyler Schwartz, COO; Ken Herold, CTO; Dr. Chris Nicastro, partnerships; Dr Valri Bieneke,
testing. 2 developers with Machine Learning experience, 2 Unity
programmers, 1 curriculum writer, part-time QA tester, artists,
animator, social media person.

Parents as Teachers: Actively working with the Company on the Phase I development and testing of Parent Connect will be the following: Donna Hunt O'Brien, Vice President of Professional and Program Development; Allison Kemner, Vice President, Research and Quality; Angela Rau, Virtual Parent Education Specialist; and Freda Markley, PAT National Trainer and Child Development Expert, Elanda Williams, Project Team Manager. 

Dr. Elizabeth Schwartz, Founder, served as Assistant Superintendent, Ladue School District, St. Louis County, for twenty years. With MIT’s Seymour Papert, she produced a 12-part video series, On Logo, in 1985 and was named Scholastic’s Computer Educator of the Year. Bettie left the District in 1995 to found the Evergreen Project, an early EdTech startup. Over a four-year period, Evergreen produced numerous science-related products for grades K-6. In 2000, Evergreen was purchased by Ask Jeeves. Bettie remained as VP Education until Ask Jeeves itself was acquired. Dr. Chris L. Nicastro, Chief of Strategic Partnerships, recently retired as Missouri’s Commissioner of Education. She served as the Superintendent of the Riverview Gardens and Hazelwood School Districts, and as an assistant superintendent for Northwest R-I and Ritenour School Districts in St. Louis County, both minority/majority.  

The development and design principals are Tyler Schwartz, Co-Founder, began his career on the Evergreen Project team. He has many awards in digital education including: Remote Viewing for the Saint Louis Art Museum (2007); Exploring the City of the Sun for the Cahokia Mounds World Heritage site (2009, 2010); and a children's animated series: Kurt Warner’s Good Sports Gang (2015). He has a B.S. in economics from Wesleyan University; a MPA from Columbia University. Ken Herold, CTO, leads idea generation, technology vision, business modeling, strategy, business process and requirement definition, software design and technical team leadership. Ken has a graduate degree from Washington University in Artificial Intelligence.

The Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC) is our only partner at present. We have an exclusive development contract with the organization that assures it will lend its support and expertise in every imaginable way.

The PATNC is also particularly interested in more fully addressing
cognitive skill development in its programming and will provide parents with
the guidance and resources necessary. However, the organization has yet
to extend its parental services with technology and Parent Connect will allow the organization to do so.

We are building on PATNC's empirical studies that have been conducted over a 20-year period. Families who participate in Parents as Teachers have been found to be more knowledgeable about good parenting practices and have children who enter kindergarten better prepared academically, have better long-term school achievement and greater parental involvement. A 2018 study conducted with migrant families through the Switzerland PAT affiliate, yielded similar results. https://parentsasteachers.org/...

Through SOLVE, we hope to add other partners to the mix, particularly in the area of technology expertise and worldwide distribution.

The Parents as Teachers network already has a well-established business model that we will build upon. The Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC), provides training and course materials to its approximately 1600 affiliates for which it charges a fee. These affiliates, in turn, provide services to families and are funded by a combination of state, local, and school district funding on a per-child basis.

In the initial stages of our roll-out, Parent Connect will be offered along side PAT's existing pre-math curricula. Revenue for Parent Connect in these initial stages will be generated from subscriptions which will be billed similarly as  course materials already sold by PAT. Families, upon leaving a PAT course, will also be allowed to continue subscribing to Parent Connect.

In the medium term, we will also offer Parent Connect directly to families that are not or have not previously been enrolled in a PAT course. As with the in-network app, access will be on a subscription basis, billed monthly.

In the longer term we plan to seek funding to make Parent Connect available for free to at-risk families around the world.

As discussed in the previous question, Parent Connect can be scaled across the PAT network quickly, where we plan to sell subscriptions to Parent Connect using a fee structure they already have in place.

Thereafter we plan on extending Parent Connect participants by selling subscriptions directly to families outside of the PAT network.

Grants and philanthropic gifts will also be sought to provide these same services for free to at-risk families. We may also include in the app the opportunity for ordinary users to provide small donations to help fund these efforts.

We believe these three streams of income should make Parent Connect sustainable and be able to reach the widest possible audience.

There are a combination of factors that led to our SOLVE application. For example, we know that our development team can benefit tremendously from  SOLVE's 12 month personalized support. Specifically,
MIT-backed experts in AI and Machine Learning can help us perfect and
accelerate our work, and assure that we are using the technology in the
best way possible for our target audience. SOLVE also appears to have considerable knowledge about and connections with organizations in the developing world. Parent Connect would like to capitalize on both.

Anyone and everyone who wants to help children grow and thrive.

Machine learning is obviously a key component Parent Connect. While we have a solid base of initial funding with which to develop this solution (namely the NSF/SBIR grant), additional capital can help us move faster and further than we could otherwise.

We strongly believe that Parent Connect is a project that overlaps significantly with missions of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and Schmidt Futures to help people to achieve more for others through the thoughtful application of advanced science and technology.

To this day, the overwhelming majority of caregivers in the world are women. Because Parent Connect is designed to empower parents and caregivers, it's important to understand that this is also a product aimed at helping women.

Our company's principal founder (Dr. Elizabeth Schwartz), a majority of our investors, and several of our key personnel our women. We are proud to support women everywhere who struggle daily to improve their lives and the lives of their children.

Similar to what we've said previously, while our current NSF/SBIR grant allows us to move a certain distance at a certain speed, additional funding could help us get further faster.

As for the ethical use, sourcing, and maintenance of the data used in Parent Connect, as a team we feel very strongly about the safeguarding of our users' data. All personal data is encrypted both in transit and in storage and is anonymized before analysis. What data we do collect is only to facilitate the machine learning aspect of Parent Connect and we will not sell or share that information.

The problems we are attempting to address are big and demand action. We believe Parent Connect is well-aligned with Innospark's goal of promoting technologies that can have a differential and disruptive impact for our economy and society.