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.

HMH Introduces Generative AI Teacher Supports in its Connected Literacy Solution to Empower Educators

BOSTON – As part of its human-centered approach to AI in K-12 education, learning technology company  HMH today announced new OpenAI-powered integrations within  Writable, its award-winning writing practice and assessment solution for grades 3-12. Within HMH’s connected literacy solution, Writable’s new GenAI capabilities increase the impact teachers can have by engaging more students with targeted feedback and motivating better writing in the moment. This approach to AI is teacher-guided, allowing teachers to incorporate AI-suggested feedback and scores into their instruction. This saves valuable time teachers can use to invest in student connections.

“At HMH, we believe technology should be applied with purpose to deepen the human connections that accelerate learning outcomes,” says Jack Lynch, CEO at HMH. “Today’s announcement represents a thoughtful step forward in the transformative journey of using generative AI to enhance student learning and give teachers time back to do what only they can do, which is really connect with their students on a human level.”

Providing comprehensive and skill-aligned feedback on student essays is time-consuming, and educators often wish they could offer more support during a student’s writing process. To address this challenge, Writable’s new generative AI-powered tools include AI-generated prompts and assignments, AI-suggested feedback and scores on any writing assignment, as well as tools to guard against plagiarism and detect AI writing in student submissions.…Read More

Carnegie Learning Picked by CT State Department of Education for High-Dosage Tutoring

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in AI-driven technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12 education, was selected by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) as an approved tutoring provider for the state’s 2023/2024 High-Dosage Tutoring (HDT) Program. The new initiative is designed to address math learning gaps among students in grades 6-9 across the state. Carnegie Learning is the only approved tutoring provider with perfect scores for Middle School Math by EdReports, and one point shy of perfect for High School Math.

“Carnegie Learning’s tutoring program provides a perfect combination of high-quality instructional resources with tutor instructors who are certified teachers and passionate about what they do,” said CEO Barry Malkin. “Our team has decades of experience establishing strong partnerships built on trust. Together this unique set of skills leads to a high impact tutoring program creating positive outcomes for thousands of students across the country. We are excited to bring this level of expertise to the students and districts in Connecticut.”

Carnegie Learning has the largest certified tutoring team in the U.S., with an ever-increasing portfolio of new curriculum offerings being added as district needs arise.…Read More

CENTEGIX Posts Record Demand for Its Wearable CrisisAlert Solution

ATLANTA /PRNewswire/ — CENTEGIX, the leader in incident response solutions, announced that new customers of its award-winning CrisisAlert™ solution were the highest in company history and that demand in the first half of 2023 has exceeded the 2022 full-year result.

School districts nationwide overwhelmingly select CENTEGIX’s CrisisAlert wearable panic button to protect staff and students. Now with more than 600,000 badge users, CENTEGIX is by far the industry leader and largest solution provider of wearable incident response technology for K-12 education, representing over 95% of the wearable safety technology market.

“We have six years of experience with wearables and have built a large and rapidly expanding suite of software applications and integrations that protect close to 10 million people for everyday and extreme emergencies. Customers tell us that CENTEGIX is the standard in wearable safety, and because all staff wear our badge, it builds a culture of safety at the location and in the community,” said Brent Cobb, CEO of CENTEGIX.…Read More

Introducing My PowerSchool: An Intuitive User Experience Empowering Families, Staff, and Administrators

FOLSOM, CALIF. – PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced the release of My PowerSchool, a cohesive user experience that consolidates all relevant information and applications into a single, streamlined platform. My PowerSchool simplifies how families interact with their children’s school and how school technology leaders manage their PowerSchool solutions by providing a central point of access based on if the user is an educator, student, or family member. My PowerSchool Family, the first release of the My PowerSchool experiences, will be available in the fall, allowing families and educators to share one source of information, including grades, attendance, assignments, calendar, completed and in-progress forms, behavior, and fees, in a seamless experience.

“My PowerSchool marks a significant milestone in empowering the education community,” said Marcy Daniel, Chief Product Officer, PowerSchool. “This new release will provide an upgraded experience to families using the current family portal in PowerSchool SIS and showcases our commitment to providing user-centric solutions that streamline processes, enhance communication, and foster collaboration among families, staff, and administrators.”

My PowerSchool Family will provide users with multiple benefits including:…Read More

Ellipsis Education Launches the Curriculum Delivery Platform

CARMEL, Ind. – Ellipsis Education, a leader in computer science curriculum for K-12 education, has launched the Curriculum Delivery Platform (CDP) that will provide everything educators need to teach computer science in one place.

The CDP is an online portal where teachers access and navigate Ellipsis courses. Designed to be mobile-responsive, the CDP makes the curriculum teachers know and love easier to use. Features of the CDP include:

  • Streamlined organization; 
  • Increased access to resources; 
  • Improved look and feel;
  • Access to a standards map on the lesson-level page; and 
  • Easier movement between courses.

“We hope that teachers will find this delivery tool efficient to use and attractive to view,” said Dr. Whitney Dove, CEO at Ellipsis Education. “Our goal is to put the curriculum at teachers’ fingertips, so they spend less time gathering their materials and more time doing what they do best—teaching!”…Read More

Aldine ISD Gets 100% STAAR Pass Rate in Algebra 1 Pilot Program

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in AI-driven technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12 education, today announced that 100% of the students in the Aldine Independent School District (ISD) – one of the largest districts in Houston, Texas – passed the Algebra 1 STAAR test on their first try in a pilot program using the Texas Math Solution.

The challenge Aldine ISD faced at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year was to prepare their students for the redesign of the math State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR), which added non-multiple-choice questions to align with the deep critical thinking and conceptual mathematics learning students should be doing in class.

“The STAAR redesign increases the level of rigor,” said Tiana Rodriguez, Program Director of Middle School Mathematics. “There’s no hack or trick to it, so we need our kids to be able to think for themselves, problem-solve and persevere. To do that on the test, they must do it in class. The Texas Math Solution gives them that opportunity.”…Read More

Dallas ISD Selects Carnegie Learning Math Curriculum for all Secondary Schools

PITTSBURGH–( BUSINESS WIRE)– Carnegie Learning, a leader in AI-driven technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12 education, today announced a new partnership with all Dallas Independent School District (ISD) middle and high schools to provide math education for over 66,000 students. The program starts this fall.

The second-largest public school district in Texas, Dallas ISD encompasses 12 counties and is recognized as one of the fastest-improving school districts in America. Led by Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, the district is committed to providing the highest-quality math curriculum for students.

According to Executive Director of STEM at Dallas ISD Michael Ruiz, Carnegie Learning’s Texas Math Solution provided a new approach to teaching math. “For me, it was really clear how the curriculum was going to benefit secondary students. Carnegie is taking the parts and changing the way we put them together and doing it in a way that makes sense for more kids. Once we started with the program, it was a snowball of success.”…Read More

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