EAST ST. LOUIS — To help parents better prepare their young children for school, State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Centreville) is highlighting the Illinois State Board of Education’s new educational text program.

“We know parents are struggling to balance work, childcare and self-care during this pandemic,” Belt said. “The educational text programs will help parents teach their children while engaging with them on a deeper level.”

The Chat2Learn Program — spearheaded by ISBE and the Behavioral Insights and Parenting — will engage up to 50,000 parents and caregivers of preschool-aged children in Illinois Preschool For All and Preschool For All Expansion programs. Program administrators are encouraged to sign parents up on their behalf. However, parent-enrollment will open at a later date.

Through conversation prompts given to parents through the program, future students will build literacy, mathematics, and social-emotional skills for kindergarten readiness. The messages are based on research evidence collected by the BIP Lab.

An example message is: "Part of being a parent is getting to know your child better every day. Ask your child, 'If you had a day to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?'"

Text messages begin on Dec. 6 and continue through June 30, 2021.

For more information, visit https://biplab.uchicago.edu/