Fort Worth, Texas – As reading proficiency remains a challenge for many Fort Worth students, Center for Transforming Lives is intentionally working to close the gap earlier and achieve remarkable results with a specialized language development tool called LENA Grow.
Early language skills play a critical role in helping children learn to read. Building that foundation before children enter kindergarten is key. Developed by the LENA Foundation, LENA Grow measures how often adults and children engage in back-and-forth conversations throughout the day. Each exchange, known as a conversational turn, plays a crucial role in early brain development and vocabulary growth. By encouraging educators to create more opportunities for conversations with children, LENA Grow supports long-term academic success.
“Only 38% of third graders are reading at grade level locally and investing in early childhood education is critical if we want to raise that percentage,” said Carol Klocek, president and chief executive officer at Center for Transforming Lives. “Being able to measure language development with a tool like LENA Grow allows us to not only evaluate but continuously improve our programs, ensuring that children are ready for success in school and beyond.”
The LENA Grow program is implemented in cycles throughout the year across multiple early childhood classrooms at Center for Transforming Lives. A child wears the device, attached to a vest, while following the normal classroom routine. After the data is collected, teachers receive reports and work with coaches to reflect on their classroom interactions and identify ways to strengthen language development.
“We adopted LENA Grow because we were seeing lower scores in classroom interaction assessments, especially around language development,” said DeAdre Andrews, Education Coordinator. “The program helps teachers ask more open-ended questions and become more intentional about how they communicate with children.”
The program has not only impacted educators and students, but families as well. One parent, who had been working closely with teachers to support her child’s language development, shared a powerful moment after seeing her child’s progress firsthand. “The mom said to me, ‘Thank you! He’s talking so much more now; this has truly helped my child,” Andrews said. “That moment really showed me how much these interactions can impact a child’s development.”
Last year, 90% of students in the Center’s program were developmentally on track to be ready for kindergarten. As Center for Transforming Lives continues to invest in early education, tools like LENA Grow are helping strengthen the language skills children need for future success and building a foundation for learning.
About Center for Transforming Lives
Center for Transforming Lives partners with single mothers and their children to help them thrive. Founded in 1907, the Center for Transforming Lives is one of Tarrant County’s biggest family safety nets, working to disrupt cycles of poverty and homelessness among the most vulnerable in our community. The nonprofit meets the needs of more than 4,000 women and children annually through a comprehensive, evidence-based, two-generation, trauma-informed model. Thanks to housing support, early childhood education, economic mobility services, and counseling services that span generations, parents and children build a sense of security and well-being as a family. Led by President and CEO Carol Klocek since 2009, the $26.4 million nonprofit opened its Riverside Campus headquarters in 2025.