Activate by C8 Sciences is a unique program designed to improve Executive Function (EF).

The National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, and the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University recently issued a working paper on EF stating: “…we aren’t born with the skills that enable us to control impulses, make plans, and stay focused….These skills develop through practice and are strengthened by the experiences through which they are applied and honed….Providing the support that children need to build these skills…is one of society’s most important responsibilities.”

Fairfax Virginia Public Schools have made development of EF skills a primary, multi-year education goal of the system, both because of their importance for learning in school and for success in life after graduation. By improving EF skills such as attention and self-regulation in children with problems in these areas, Activate aims to help these children get more out of school and at the same time to improve the classroom learning environment for all children.

Developers at C8 Sciences were very pleased to see the Activate program implemented in over 100 schools this year, from Florida, to Virginia, New York, New Mexico, Texas, Alaska and Hawaii. Some implementations started in late Spring as warm ups for the Fall, and some were for small numbers of children with special education needs. There were, however, several larger implementations in general classrooms in schools covering the full socioeconomic spectrum, and one full implementation with special needs students. In all, the program saw highly significant improvements on “gold-standard” tests of EF. Data on standardized school-administered tests of math and reading were available from one of these four implementations, and these showed truly remarkable effects of Activate.

Download the Activate Test Results for School Year 2013 (PDF) to view the impact of Activate on learning and EF skills in elementary school children.