Sparkler Press Release

Is My Child Falling Behind? 'Sparkler' app offers
guidance to parents of young children 

BY KAYLEE PUGLIESE | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY — Parents unsure if their infants’ or toddlers’ development is on track can get feedback
with a new smartphone app. The app, called Sparkler, was rolled out in Waterbury this fall and lets parents
screen their children on development milestones by answering a series of questions. If the child’s
development is not where it should be, parents are connected with services the child needs.

Althea Marshall Brooks, executive director of Bridge to Success, said Sparkler is meant to support families
as their children grow."When you get this little baby in your hands, there’s no manual," Brooks said.
"Sparkler is more than just an app that manages the development surveillance of your child by way of the
ASQ (Ages and Stages Questionnaire), but it also provides tools, tips and support for the parent as well."

Parents answer questions about the child’s communication abilities, gross motor skills, fine motor
skills, problem solving and personal-social skills.There are 21 different sets of questions for
children at different ages from birth through 5. If the child falls below a certain score, an expert
from Sparkler will reach out to the parent through the app within a few days and connect them to
additional resources

Bridge to Success, a partnership of community leaders, educators and organizations to support
the city’s youth and families to be successful in school, their careers and lives, administers the
Sparkler project here.Yalitza Senquiz, 26, of Waterbury has two children, son Zion, 1, and
daughter Zayalee, 4, and has been using the app for about two months.“Their brains are like
sponges,” mom said.The app provides directions to activities to concentrate on child
development. One activity helps the child learn math through cooking. An activity called “Salad 1-
23” has the family count five different vegetables and carefully chops them. Then, the child can
count how many pieces there are of each vegetable as they drop them into a bowl. When all of
the ingredients are in the bowl, the child and family can enjoy a healthy meal together.

Bridge to Success, a partnership of community leaders, educators and organizations to support
the city’s youth and families to be successful in school, their careers and lives, administers the
Sparkler project here.Yalitza Senquiz, 26, of Waterbury has two children, son Zion, 1, and
daughter Zayalee, 4, and has been using the app for about two months.“Their brains are like
sponges,” mom said.The app provides directions to activities to concentrate on child development.
One activity helps the child learn math through cooking. An activity called “Salad 1-23” has the
family count five different vegetables and carefully chops them. Then, the child can count how
many pieces there are of each vegetable as they drop them into a bowl. When all of the
ingredients are in the bowl, the child and family can enjoy a healthy meal together.

Once the activity is completed, the app asks how the child performed — if it was too easy, too
hard or just right to keep track of how the child is doing. Senquiz said she does a lot of cooking-
related activities with her children. She cuts sandwiches and cookies into shapes and has them
identify what they are. There are creative art projects through drawing and painting aimed at mind
development, which Senquiz said are some of her and her daughter’s favorite. They painted faces
on pumpkins, and Senquiz showed Zayalee different facial emotions she could paint. “My
daughter loves art, and you can express yourself through art,” she said. “The app enhances her
capabilities because she’s very smart.”

Garth Harries, co-founder of Sparkler, said the app is a tool for encouraging innovation within
early childhood. “It is absolutely the case that families get their content through their phones now,”
he said. “The interesting part is the way that it changes systems and promotes people to interact
in different ways.”

Sparkler has been introduced in 12 other states over the past two years. It started in Connecticut
in Hartford and Bridgeport and expanded to Manchester, Stamford, Danbury, New Haven, Bristol
and Waterbury this fall.

The app design and maintenance is paid for through a federal grant, the Preschool Development
Birth through Five, which the state received from the Department of Health and Human Services
of Child Care. Each of the six cities was awarded $40,000 to use for the program’s
implementation in their area.

Sparkler is available for Waterbury families until March, and the Office of Early Childhood will
analyze how its roll out went to see how they might continue with it.

Waterbury Bridge to Success is a cross-sector partnership of over 90 community and civic
leaders, educators and organizations working collectively to achieve equitable change by

empowering Waterbury’s youth to be successful in school, career, and life.
 

Engage. Empower. Inform.