Head Start programs run by the Black Belt Community Foundation will be the first schools in Alabama to introduce new technology aimed to help with whole child development and social emotional learning skills.

The tables were developed by Hatch Learning to help students as young as three years with skills like teamwork, sorting and identifying emotions. Four students will be able to sit around each purple table where they can play interactive games on a large touch screen.

“Often the narrative is that we’re playing catch up, or we’re just making do with the bare minimum here in the Black Belt. But today, guess what? We’re the first people in Alabama [with this technology] and we’re setting a great example,” said Daron Harris, public relations director at the Black Belt Community Foundation, a nonprofit that operates six Head Start centers across the Black Belt.

BBCF purchased 20 IgniteTables for a total of about $200,000 to go in all six of their early learning programs, in Choctaw, Dallas, Marengo and Wilcox counties. The buildings also were recently equipped with broadband. Previously, BBCF said their schools sometimes struggled with internet connection in their rural locations.

“Hatch Early Learning is thrilled to be partnering with the Black Belt Community Foundation to support their mission of providing quality education and opportunities in underserved communities,” said Sam Bonfante, President of Hatch Early Learning, in a news release. “We believe that every child deserves access to a high-quality education, and through this collaboration, we are proud to contribute to the positive impact on the lives of young learners in the Black Belt community.”

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According to Taquila Monroe, director of BBCF’s Head Start programs, the tables are intended to be incorporated into daily lesson plans to enhance social emotional learning.

“Two years of a pandemic in lockdown returned children back to school with fewer abilities, gaps in knowledge and increased behavioral issues,” Monroe said. “Understanding the need for social emotional support, we decided to invest in our children’s well being and Hatch Learning answered the call.”

Hatch Learning has already partnered with other schools across the country, and says some of the biggest outcomes they’ve seen are increased student and family engagement and equipping teachers with better data about the student.

IgniteTables track each student’s progress in various tasks, allowing teachers to go back in and identify exactly what a student needs help with. Parents also have the ability to login to their child’s profile and see how they are progressing.

According to Nate Cox, the senior vice president of Hatch, only parents and teachers have access to the data collected by the tables.

“We can assign homework for them to do with their families based on what we see they need. It gives us more ability to give students individualized learning opportunities,” said Demetria Shannon, a BBCF Head Start teacher. “And the students will love it.”