President of the Republic of Senegal to Visit Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- His Excellency Adboulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal, will be honored at a reception this Saturday, sponsored by Southern Utah University and hosted by former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt.

At the reception, Dr. Dustin Heuston, chairman, founder, and CEO of Waterford Institute, will present His Excellency with the inaugural Waterford Award for Vision in Education, for his commitment to advancing early education in Senegal.

"The President expresses his appreciation for Waterford Institute's dedication and development of early education programs," said Fatou Danielle Diagne, newly appointed ambassador to the United States.

At the direction of President Wade, Waterford Institute has been working since the middle of last year with the national organization in Senegal responsible for early childhood development to implement a pilot of Waterford Institute software programs in a Case des Tout-petits preschool in Dakar.

"The Case des Tout-petits program in Senegal is an innovative and visionary early education program that is capturing the attention of international educators and other African countries," said Charles Callis, vice president of international development at Waterford Institute. "We are very pleased to be working with the government of President Wade and to have the opportunity to pilot the Waterford Early Learning™ programs in Senegal."

Based on the early progress of children using Waterford Institute software in Senegal, the national agency governing early childhood development plans to expand its use to all of the Case des Tout-petits preschools throughout Senegal in the future.

Waterford Institute

Waterford Institute™, Inc. (http://www.waterford.org) is a nonprofit research center dedicated to providing every child with the finest education through the development of high-quality educational models, programs, and software. Founded by Dr. Dustin Heuston in 1976, Waterford Institute employs rigorous research to build award-winning, proven educational programs. Since creating the first educational videodisc and having invested more than $135 million in its software and programs, Waterford Institute utilizes the latest proven research as it continues to be at the cutting edge of technology-delivered instruction. Dozens of studies have validated the effectiveness of Waterford Institute's programs, and millions of students have and continue to benefit. Today, Waterford Institute is a U.S. leader in preschool through second-grade software for reading, math, and science programs and has reached millions of children globally, helping them build the academic foundation necessary for a lifetime of learning.

Waterford Institute, Inc. is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

SOURCE Waterford Institute