In The News

Everyday stories of communities closing the readiness gap.

Child in Head Start program plays letter-sorting game

Rockingham Co. preschoolers receive free touchpads

EDEN — A North Carolina-based non-profit group put free custom-built touchpad computers into the hands of five dozen preschoolers at Douglass Elementary School here on Thursday. ApSeed, the organization that produces computers designed to prepare youngsters for kindergarten with pre-loaded curriculum, had already distributed 500 such touchpads to the county’s Head Start students earlier this…

August 2023Read More →

ApSeed founder, Greg Alcorn holds a blue Seedling educational tablet and talks about it to educators

Media Coverage

ApSeed preschool initiative expands scope, footprint

ROWAN COUNTY, NC – After starting with 60 touchpads for local Head Start students in 2016, the ApSeed program created by Salisbury entrepreneur Greg Alcorn should hit the 20,000 mark by the end of August. That’s 20,000 devices distributed free of charge to teach at-risk preschoolers their letters, numbers and other basics expected for kindergarten…

August 2023Read More →

A volunteer woman organizes dozens of pairs of new shoes on a table. The shoes will be given out to children at a community back-to-school event.

Media Coverage

“Gearing Up for Success” helping get families ready for school

From the Salisbury Post (by Brad Dountz) Summer vacation is in full swing for many kids and their families, but school will return sooner than most people think. Luckily, the Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency, Inc. has helped take the lead to give kids the tools they need to prosper in the upcoming academic year. On…

August 2023Read More →

Girl and boy children share a Seedling educational touchpad

Media Coverage

ApSeed outlines what children should be able to do for kindergarten

Going to kindergarten? Along with Seedling devices, the ApSeed program distributes materials that include this list of things children should be able to do as they enter kindergarten. Children are ready for kindergarten if they are 5 years old on or before Aug. 31, the information sheet says. “Every child learns skills at a different…

August 2023Read More →

Media Coverage

VIDEO: 200 free tablets designed to help Buncombe preschoolers become ‘kindergarten-ready’

A nonprofit is giving tools to some children in Buncombe County to help them have greater success in school. NC nonprofit ApSeed on July 13 distributed 200 educational tablets to preschool-aged children from low-income families in Buncombe County. The tablets are designed to make children “kindergarten-ready” — an opportunity that many underserved children might otherwise…

July 2023Read More →

A hand presses an icon on the screen of a blue Seedling educational touchpad.

Media Coverage

Nonprofit gifts educational tablets to underprivileged WNC children to prepare for kindergarten

Watch full story BUNCOMBE COUNTY, NC — More underprivileged children in western North Carolina are going to be properly educated by the time kindergarten starts thanks to the efforts of a nonprofit. ApSeed Early Childhood Education made multiple stops this afternoon throughout Buncombe County handing out kits that included learning touch tablets. The tablets are…

July 2023Read More →

ApSeed Announcements

ApSeed: Supporting Youngest Readers

By Jeanna Baxter White – Davie County Blog “We aren’t looking for advocates anymore, we are looking for accomplices and we have them in Davie County,” says Greg Alcorn, founder of ApSeed Early Childhood Education. “The Mebane Foundation has been the rockstar of all partners for ApSeed.” The Mebane Foundation and ApSeed Early Childhood…

June 2023Read More →

Blog: Seeds for Thought

Three steps forward, no steps back

The Kindergarten Assessment can be scary. Imagine being four years old, sitting in an adult chair and having a stranger ask you fifty questions. Oh, and your parent(s) are required to wait in the parking lot! Welcome to school, right? ApSeed is going the extra mile to help each child prepare for this educational gauntlet.…

June 2023Read More →

ApSeed Announcements

ApSeed hires Executive Director to lead growth

Press Release for immediate distribution – March 1, 2023 After six years of steady growth, ApSeed has announced its first, full-time Executive Director. Dr. Julie Morrow joins ApSeed to lead expansion in ten North Carolina counties. ApSeed received non-recurring state funding to pilot its unique early childhood model in these counties. “We are ecstatic to…

March 2023Read More →

Media Coverage

Rowan among school districts to join ApSeed Pre-K program for 2023-24

SALISBURY — Rowan County is one of 10 school districts in the state selected for the ApSeed Early Childhood Education program for 2023-24. In 2022, the state legislature appropriated $2.5 million to ApSeed, allowing the organization to provide their unique Seedling Touchpads and training materials to disadvantaged children. The goal is to improve assessment outcomes…

January 2023Read More →

Blog: Seeds for Thought

It’s Go Time!

Since receiving our public funding (thank you Rep. Harry Warren), we have been hustling. Here are some specific actions: We have started producing 10,000 Seedling touchpads and headsets. The headsets are new this year. Thank you to Head Start in Salisbury for this recommendation. One of our application developers (RV AppStudios) has agreed to customize…

December 2022Read More →

Blog: Seeds for Thought

From A to Z to 123

From ApSeed to Zimbabwe children in the Mushayamunda village are learning to count! Their tribe in Zimbabwe received our Seedlings. The children have made progress beyond belief. The Mushayamunda’s sent us incredible videos. The children were learning how to count! The videos we received warmed our hearts and motivated us to push further. These children…

November 2022Read More →

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