In May 2018, three Carolina Meadows residents, Don Stedman, Joe Sparling, and Jonathan Kotch, helped create a non-profit corporation called the Abecedarian Education Foundation (AEF). All of them are serving on AEF’s Board of Directors.
The mission of AEF is to foster the lifelong success of future generations by stimulating and supporting high-quality adult-child interactions in the years before children enter formal schooling. To achieve its mission, AEF helps organizations in the US and across the globe to plan, initiate, and sustain their use of the Abecedarian Approach, a research-based approach proven to enhance children’s school achievement and life outcomes. AEF’s primary focus is on programs that serve vulnerable children and families, especially those with low levels of education and economic resources.
Representing AEF, Joe Sparling visited Singapore for the week of July 9-13 to participate in the government’s rollout of a pilot project implementing the Abecedarian Approach for 1,000 children from 2 months to 36 months of age. The announcement of the pilot project appeared on the NewsAsia Cannel evening news in Singapore on July 11. This is a link to the 2½ minute news segment:
Also appearing on this TV segment in addition to Joe Sparling from Carolina Meadows were Singapore’s Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development, Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, and Richard Magnus, chairman of Temasek Foundation Cares which has committed $1.6 million dollars to fund the program over the next three years.
In addition to TV News coverage, several newspapers in Singapore (including Chinese language, English language, and Malay language papers) ran stories about Sparling’s visit.
The headline on this Malay language newspaper story reads: “16 Childcare Centers to start children in Abecedarian program” and the picture caption reads “Professor Sparling interacting with children under the Abecedarian program.”