SDPB Partners with Bright by Text to Expand At-home Learning for South Dakota Kids
Caregivers can text SDKIDS to 274448 for expert tips, games and child development tools
SDPB is partnering with Bright by Text, a national parent texting program, to put expert tips, games, and child development tools directly into the hands of parents and caregivers. As more children learn from home and families struggle to access services they need, SDPB is proud to offer this unique service to help South Dakota families hurt by the digital divide.
Bright by Text includes topics like brain development, games and activities, health and wellness, STEM, safety and more. Bright by Text partners with PBS, Vroom, Sesame Street, CDC, and others to develop content for children aged prenatal to age eight.
In addition to expert content, Bright by Text includes messages about information and resources specific to South Dakota, like digital library resources and food pantries. Community organizations across South Dakota will submit the latest information about services and resources during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are proud to add another tool to the toolbox of educational and family wellness resources SDPB makes available to all South Dakotans,” says Julie Overgaard, SDPB Executive Director. “Bright by Text expands on SDPB’s Early Learner Initiative, which we officially launched this spring as part of our mission to insure all South Dakota families, particularly those most vulnerable to economic disparity, the digital divide, and COVID-19 have equal access and opportunity to quality early learning resources.”
Bright by Text provides fun, easy activities for caregivers and kids and is proven to build school readiness and support nurturing caregiver-child relationships. Innovative services like Bright by Text help provide equitable solutions to early education when schools are closed or when families struggle to access healthy, age-appropriate resources. Parents and caregivers can feel reassured they are receiving important local information and announcements throughout South Dakota.
To sign up, parents and caregivers with children under 8 can text the keyword SDKIDS to 274448 (BRIGHT). They’ll receive 2-4 text messages per week. Each message includes a link to a landing page with more detail, brief modeling videos, and links to related resources.
Funding for SDPB's Early Learner Initiative is made possible by a grant through the Black Hills Area Community Foundation and by members of Friends of SDPB.
