Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Carnegie Learning Announces New Chief Revenue Officer

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in AI-driven technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12 education, today announced that Chris Hedrick is joining the company as Chief Revenue Officer. Chris will sit on the new Carnegie Learning Executive Leadership Team reporting to CEO Barry Malkin.

Chris joins Carnegie Learning from Scholastic, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Sales. He brings nearly thirty years of experience in sales and revenue management in K-12 education, working with some of the most respected companies in the field. 

Prior to his tenure at Scholastic, Chris worked with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Cambium Learning, where he held various sales leadership roles and contributed significantly to the growth and success of those organizations. With this experience, Chris brings a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of educators and school districts.…Read More

Edthena Announces Winner of the 2023 Teacher Leader Impact Award 

SAN FRANCISCO – To kick off Teacher Appreciation Week, Edthena is announced Megan Schlagel of St. Vrain Valley Schools in Longmont, Colo. as the winner of its 2023 Teacher Leader Impact Award which recognizes standout teachers nationwide. Schlagel, a high school math teacher at Niwot High School, was nominated by an administrator at her school for having an impact in her classroom and beyond through her dedication to lifelong learning and the continuous improvement of her teaching practices. 

“Megan truly exemplifies what it means to be a teacher leader,” said Adam Geller, founder and CEO of Edthena. “In addition to the impact she has with her students, Megan is passionate about supporting her fellow high school teachers and continuing her own professional learning. We are proud to recognize her hard work and dedication.”

As part of the award’s nomination process, school-level administrators were asked to detail how a nominee continually improves as well as the positive impacts of the nominee’s teaching and lifelong learning. …Read More

Swing Education Surpasses One Million Hours of Classroom Substitute Teaching

SAN MATEO, Calif.– Substitute teachers sourced via  Swing Education, a tech-enabled staffing marketplace that matches schools with qualified substitute teachers,  have filled more than one million hours of classroom instruction in the 2022-23 school year. 

Though Swing has been helping schools fill classroom vacancies since 2015, this is the first time the company has crossed the one million instructional hour mark in a single school year. 

“We never had an explicit goal to reach a million teaching hours, but knew we were going to get there and it kind of snuck up on us, to be honest,” said Mike Teng, CEO of Swing Education. “Reaching this number is significant and it feels extraordinary, especially as it lands during teacher appreciation week, which is this week. It also validates the real service we’re providing to schools and students since having a stable pool of substitutes is critical for maintaining instructional consistency and quality.”…Read More

HMH Completes Acquisition of NWEA

Learning technology company HMH announced that it has completed its acquisition of assets from research and educational services organization NWEA. The combined organization will harness the collective power of instruction and research-based insights to support educators in their efforts to drive better outcomes for students.

NWEA CEO Chris Minnich will join HMH’s executive leadership team as president of a new NWEA division. The division will maintain its current offerings including its flagship assessment MAP Growth and continue to offer platform-agnostic assessment solutions to its thousands of partners globally. In addition, educators will benefit from a connected solution linking NWEA’s assessments with HMH’s curriculum. This will enable them to better understand how students are growing academically and how to maximize that growth with content specific recommendations that advance student learning.

“We are thrilled to welcome NWEA’s talented and innovative team to the HMH community. Together, we are deeply focused on the transformative power of education,” said Jack Lynch, CEO of HMH. “We look forward to diving into our collective work in support of students and teachers.”…Read More

CoderZ Names Tony Oran as Chief Executive Officer

DERRY, N.H. – CoderZ, the award-winning, gamified, cloud-based robotics and STEM platform, has announced that Tony Oran is joining the company as its CEO in the USA.

Oran has extensive experience in sales, marketing as well as business leadership and development. He comes to CoderZ from Festo Didactic, the technical education equipment and solution provider where he held several executive positions, most recently vice president of sales for the company’s North America division. Before that, Oran was also director of strategic business development and partnerships.

Previously, Oran held multiple management roles at Festo Didactic’s parent company Festo Group, a worldwide supplier of automation technology, equipment, and solutions for industrial and technical education. Before Festo, he served as an operations leader for various companies.…Read More

News Flash! PRESSTO Sees Exponential Growth Within Early Launch Of Generative Ai Integration

New York, NY — Within a month of its official launch, edtech startup Pressto has seen unprecedented growth. The first-to-market generative AI for teachers is a classroom ready platform that has yielded over 1,300 teachers and 5,000 student sign-ups – totaling an 875% overall user increase – from more than 700 schools across the country.

“Based on our years of research, we know that both the desire to find alternative tools to motivate writing, as well as the need to remain ahead of students when it comes to AI in the classroom is essential, so we are not surprised that teachers are quickly embracing Pressto and our user numbers are growing at such a rapid pace,” says Pressto Founder and CEO, Daniel Stedman. “There hasn’t been a disruptor in writing in decades until now, and Pressto has found a way to implement this new wave of AI technology to help educators with writing instruction.”

Pressto’s unique capabilities and innovative approach resulted in early accolades for the beta version, including an honorable mention in the Education Category of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards. The platform has continued to push the boundaries of innovation and has since transformed into the first platform to put AI in the hands of teachers, empowering them with tools and knowledge needed to utilize AI confidently and effectively in their classrooms. …Read More

BookNook Appoints Seasoned Education Industry Leader Brad Baumgartner as Chief Executive Officer

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) — BookNook, a leading provider of effective high-impact literacy and tutoring solutions for schools and students, today announced the appointment of  Brad Baumgartner as Chief Executive Officer. Baumgartner will draw from his more than two decades of experience as a leader in the education industry to drive a new chapter of strategic growth for BookNook. Former CEO and BookNook founder Michael Lombardo will transition to Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“I am honored to be afforded the opportunity to lead this amazing organization and will continue prioritizing the mission while living our values and strategically growing the company,” Baumgartner said. “Tutoring should be available to every learner in need of additional support, and BookNook is uniquely positioned to deliver on the vast potential of remote tutoring.”

Before joining BookNook, Baumgartner served in various leadership roles in the education industry. He has been integral to the growth of successful education companies, such as Learnosity, Questar Assessment and ConnectEDU. Baumgartner’s background in domestic and international markets, combined with his focus on revenue growth and scalable business operations, will enable BookNook to expand its reach, increase its market penetration and achieve greater scale. Baumgartner will lead the company in its next chapter dedicated to its mission of ensuring equitable access to rigorous and engaging instruction through technology innovation.…Read More

New Meridian Names Eileen Shihadeh as Chief Operating Officer

AUSTIN — New Meridian, a nonprofit assessment company committed to advancing quality education for all students, today announced that Eileen Shihadeh has joined the executive team as chief operating officer.

Shihadeh has two decades of experience in strategic planning and execution, product management, branding, sales, and marketing in various senior leadership roles at major companies that include Texas Instruments, Raptor Technologies, and Compass Learning.

“Eileen brings enormous capability to the New Meridian team,” said Arthur VanderVeen, founder and CEO of New Meridian. “Her breadth and depth of experience in organizational management, strategy, and enterprise value creation will add tremendous energy and expertise as we continue to grow.”…Read More

VHS Learning Is Awarded Teaching with Primary Sources Grant from Library of Congress 

 Boston – VHS Learning has been selected to receive a $25,000 grant to create a high-quality U.S. History curriculum and professional development supporting discussion-based primary source analysis online and in other learning settings. This project is funded by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Eastern Region program, managed by Waynesburg University.

“The goal with this grant project is to engage online learners in frequent primary source analysis experiences that increase their sense of connection to classmates, self, and the curriculum,” President & CEO of VHS Learning, Carol DeFuria said. “We are honored to receive the TPS grant from the Library of Congress to deepen student discussions through primary source analysis, and we look forward to bringing this to high school students through an online U.S. History curriculum.”

During the grant project, VHS Learning will design 33 primary source analysis lessons within a cohesive, newly-developed U.S. History curriculum. Primary source analysis will be integrated into weekly discussions within all three course formats of the curriculum, including asynchronous, paced, and self-paced models. …Read More

Savvas Learning Company Acquires Whooo’s Reading

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, announced today that it has acquired Whooo’s Reading and its AI-driven technology that enables teachers to quickly and easily determine whether their students comprehend the books they are reading.

“Artificial intelligence technology has the power to transform K-12 education by dramatically helping to personalize the teaching and learning experience,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “The AI-driven technology that supports Whooo’s Reading is a great example of this. It gives students personalized and adaptive feedback on their writing and reading skills, empowering them to grow as learners. It also provides teachers with valuable insights into which skills their students need extra support with, allowing them to customize instruction.” 

Backed by the National Science Foundation, the AI technology behind Whooo’s Reading helps students practice reading comprehension skills with in-the-moment feedback on their written responses to open-ended critical thinking questions about the content they are reading. Its proprietary machine-learning algorithm automatically assesses student writing, saving teachers time while also providing them actionable data on their students’ strengths and weaknesses — enabling them to differentiate instruction. …Read More