County staff touts Footsteps to Brilliance usage as board presses for evaluation and final payment details

San Bernardino County Office of Education staff presented an update on the Footsteps to Brilliance early‑literacy program, reporting widespread county uptake and discussing the contract and funding history.

Heather Smith, Director of Early Education and Development, told the county board the platform is free to children in the county in English and Spanish and is accessible on smart devices with offline features. She reported that enrollment on the platform has grown steadily and cited an enrollment figure of 84,997 users as of late February and extensive usage metrics for the current school year, including hours spent and total books and words read.

Smith said the county initially used ESSER funds and later ARPA funds to expand access; she described data reporting and a county contribution to the contract that reduced net expense to the county. Board members sought clarity on total county spending over the life of the agreement. Smith and other staff said past payments included shared costs and reimbursements from partners; staff indicated the county budget includes a final perpetual license payment that has been jointly financed with county partners.

Board members pressed for evidence the platform moves the needle on state accountability measures. "We have to be careful comparing words‑read metrics to CAASPP outcomes," a staff member said, noting linkage is difficult because preschool IDs do not match later K–12 IDs and COVID disrupted longitudinal comparisons. Staff proposed sampling strategies to compare platform users to state assessment outcomes rather than claiming a direct one‑to‑one relationship.

The board asked staff to provide a clearer accounting of total county expenditures on the program and to clarify whether media‑promotion line items were eligible uses of ESSER funds; staff committed to follow up with details and to present contract funding figures and the final perpetual license payment amount to the board.

Next steps: County staff will provide a written breakdown of past payments, partner reimbursements and the final perpetual license payment, and follow up on questions about media/marketing expenditures and evaluation plans linking usage to later assessments.