Discovery Education Appoints Scott Kinney as Chief Executive Officer and Kelli Campbell as President

Discovery Education—the Charlotte, North Carolina based global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms—today announced the appointment of Scott Kinney as its new Chief Executive Officer and Kelli Campbell as the company’s new President. Kinney succeeds Paul Ilse, who will become Executive Chairman of Discovery Education’s Board of Directors.

Kinney’s distinguished 25-year career in education began in Pennsylvania’s public school system at the  Sharpsville Area School District, where he served as the district’s Instructional Technology Coordinator.  Following stints as Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Director of Educational Technologies at Pennsylvania’s  Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21, Kinney joined Discovery Education in 2005.

During his tenure at Discovery Education, Kinney has played a key role in a number of the organization’s innovative initiatives, including the creation of Discovery Education’s professional learning business, the establishment of Discovery Education’s master’s degree in instructional media, and the growth of the company’s award-winning professional learning community, the Discovery Educator Network.…Read More

VHS Learning Commits to CSforALL Movement for the Fifth Year

VHS Learning renewed its commitment to expand access to computer science education for all students at the 2020 CSforALL virtual showcase held recently. The showcase took the place of the annual summit, which was postponed until 2021. During the virtual event, CSforALL announced this year’s CSforALL Commitments from its member community.

VHS Learning, a nonprofit leader providing world-class online programs to schools and students globally, has embraced the CSforALL movement since its inception in 2016, and has made an ongoing commitment to expand access to computer science education for all students. This year, the nonprofit partnered with the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to offer free enrollments in its AP® Computer Science Principles course to high school students in rural areas.
Participating schools from at least five rural districts will be able to enroll students in the AP® program at no charge, beginning in the 2020-21 school year. The aim is to provide more opportunities within the field of computer science and help close the education gap. Students will enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, explore the world of computer science and its STEM applications, and better understand the opportunities available and skills needed for a future career in computer science.

“CSforALL aims to make computer science an integral part of the educational experience for all K-12 students and teachers, “said Carol DeFuria, President & CEO of VHS Learning. “VHS Learning offers computer science career pathways in middle school and high school through our innovative teacher-led online program. We want all students, regardless of their geographic location or economic circumstance, to discover the opportunities available to them through computer science.”
Technology courses currently offered by VHS Learning include CAD, Video Game Design, Java Programming, Programming in Visual Basic, and Creative Programming with Scratch. VHS Learning also offers a computer science certificate program. Students may enroll in any VHS Learning course of their choosing, as long as they meet course prerequisites. Students can choose to enroll directly in VHS Learning online courses or enroll through their school’s participation in the program.…Read More

Instructure Acquires Certica Solutions to Make Learning Personal for Every Student

Instructure today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Certica Solutions, an industry leader in K12 assessment and analytics, and longtime partner of Canvas and MasteryConnect. Through this acquisition, Instructure will provide the comprehensive and open set of tools educators need to drive student outcomes by bringing together a learning management system, assessment management system, assessment content, and data analytics into one streamlined K12 learning experience.

“This topsy-turvy year has only underscored just how important it is to know if our students are learning, whether they are being taught in the classroom or online,” said Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure. “Welcoming Certica into the Instructure family will support educators by combining our assessment platform with smarter, standards-based assessments, assessment item banks, and powerful analytics empowering educators to make learning personal for each student.”

Certica has been a pioneer in K12 assessment creating a high-impact program of standards-aligned item bank content, predictive benchmark assessment, rigorous formative assessment, and teacher-ready analytics to provide the most immediate, accessible and actionable data for educators to use in the classroom.…Read More

EMC Health Foundation and Hazel Health Partner to Provide Behavioral Health Services to Students

EMC Health Foundation (EMCHF) is partnering with Hazel Health, the national leader in school-based healthcare, to fund a new program that ensures access to primary care and behavioral health services for two California public school districts at no cost.

“The EMC Health Foundation grants are specifically targeted to support the telebehavioral health programs,” said Jeffrey Lewis, President and CEO at EMC Health Foundation. “In a COVID-19 environment, we know children and adolescents are suffering. Providing them immediate access to telebehavioral health services will help children, parents, and school leaders address the root cause and keep the child in school. Without private-sector creativity and entrepreneurism like Hazel Health, rural California and America will continue to be overlooked.”

Servicing students in Stanislaus County, the one-year pilot program will be implemented in Denair and Hughson Unified School Districts, which were selected for their rural geographical locations and diverse populations. The program seeks to meet the growing need for accessible mental health care and set an example for other districts interested in implementing a similar program.…Read More

SDI, Inc. and New York City Department of Education Extend Essential Materials to Non-Public Schools

SDI, Inc., a leader in digital supply chain services and solutions, and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) are expanding upon a 20 year partnership to extend cleaning, maintenance and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) materials to non-public schools.

“This expansion is about protecting people, and creating a sustainable solution that serves the needs of all students, faculty and staff,” said Kelly Kleinfelder, Chief Information Officer & SVP, Information Technology at SDI. “SDI is eager to extend the supply chain we’ve built over 20 years with NYCDOE, ensuring every institution is able to access the materials they need, when they need them.”

Non-public institutions in New York will receive access to the same materials and pricing as New York’s public schools, including cleaning and maintenance supplies and PPE. District and school leaders can leverage SDI’s digital catalog to order materials as needed from a growing list of options. SDI is currently integrating its technology system with NYCDOE to ensure compliance and interoperability.…Read More

Savvas Announces its enVision® Mathematics Common Core Grades 6-8 © 2021 Earns Highest Rating from EdReports

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation learning solutions leader for K-12 education, is proud to announce that its enVision® Mathematics Common Core Grades 6-8 © 2021 received the highest rating from EdReports.org. With this latest designation, the nation’s most popular math program has earned “All-Green” ratings for the entire enVision Common Core K-12 series.

EdReports — the highly regarded, independent nonprofit designed to improve education by providing reviews of K-12 instructional materials — applies evidence-based analysis in evaluating math and ELA programs. By giving “All-Green” ratings to each of the products in the enVision Common Core K-12 line, EdReports has determined that the full math series consistently delivers high-quality, standards-aligned instructional material across all grade levels.

“We appreciate EdReports for recognizing the high-quality of our entire enVision K-12 math series,” said Savvas Learning Company CEO Bethlam Forsa. “Teaching with high-quality instructional materials has a direct impact on student learning outcomes. With its adaptive learning and innovative instructional design, enVision provides educators the high-quality curriculum they are looking for to increase both student engagement and achievement.”…Read More

KidWind Virtual Workshops Available for Educators

The KidWind Project, the international leader of clean energy education, created topic-specific renewable energy virtual workshops designed to help educators teach about renewable energy whether teaching in person or remotely. The one-day workshops will provide training on the fundamentals of wind energy, solar energy, and the power grid.

“Our training workshops continue to be popular among educators looking to expand their knowledge on renewable energy,” said Michael Arquin, founder of KidWind. “With virtual workshops, we’ll be able to reach more educators and provide newly developed resources and tactics for remote or hybrid learning environments and activities they can use to make lessons hands-on and engaging.”

Each topic-specific workshop is six hours and will have the same format. Workshops will start with background on the topic to help educators get a better understanding followed by introducing activities for the classroom to engage students in dynamic, hands-on learning. Educators will also receive a box of materials in advance for use during the workshop and a certificate of completion at the end of the workshop.…Read More

Oklahoma’s State Textbook Committee Unanimously Approves Discovery Education Science Techbook

Following a comprehensive evaluation, the  Oklahoma State Textbook Committee has unanimously approved the Elementary and Middle School editions of  Discovery Education’s  Science Techbook for statewide use as core instructional resources.  Oklahoma’s adoption of the Science Techbook empowers the state’s school systems to purchase and integrate this innovative digital resource, and corresponding print resources, into teaching and learning.  Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

Delivered through the dynamic, flexible  Discovery Education Experience K-12 platform, Science Techbook drives engagement with exclusive phenomena and interactive content. Virtual and hands-on investigations, STEM activities and a variety of instructional supports enhance the delivery of impactful, blended instruction, in person or at a distance.

Available with the Science Techbook are coordinated digital and print teacher guides offering unit, concept, and lesson overviews, standards connections, and differentiation activities to inform instructional planning and guide three-dimensional learning. Teacher editions also provide flexible pacing options, embedded teacher notes, and Pathways for Learning to address diverse learners. Print student editions and interactive worktexts are available for every grade level and integrate seamlessly with the digital and hands-on assets of this comprehensive program.…Read More

5.3 Million Star Assessments Show the True Impact of the COVID Slide

Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, has released How Kids Are Performing: Tracking the Impact of COVID-19 on Reading and Mathematics Achievement, a report detailing the learning effects associated with COVID-19 school disruptions. Designed to end the speculation and provide guidance for educators as they address learning gaps, the report is based on the results of more than five million student assessments.

Student assessments from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were included in the sample, which consisted of students in grades 1–8 who took Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, or Star Math assessments during both Fall 2019 and Fall 2020.

Key findings of the report include the following:…Read More

Tobii Dynavox launches Boardmaker 7 – the new platform for special education

Tobii Dynavox, the global leader in assistive technology for communication, today announced the new generation of its special education platform Boardmaker. Boardmaker provides a fully inclusive education environment for parents, special education teachers and schools to millions of students around the world.

Boardmaker has been the world’s leading software for special education for the past 30 years and currently supports education, communication, and access needs for more than six million students in 51 countries. Hundreds of thousands of teachers rely on Boardmaker’s learning resources and have used it to develop more than a million education activities which all can be shared and accessed through the platform and its associated online user community.

In Boardmaker 7, features from previous generations have been combined in a new software that runs on Windows, Mac and Chromebooks in 14 languages. The software interacts seamlessly with Boardmaker’s online features, student management platform and the large online sharing community. It can be used by students via traditional computer interfaces, via touch screens, eye gaze and several other access options, making Boardmaker the most accessible platform on the market. Boardmaker 7 includes a modern and streamlined user interface allowing users to easily create and deliver print or interactive curriculum and communication support.…Read More

Apex Learning and Illuminate Education Partner to Inform Meaningful Instruction

Apex Learning, a recognized leader in online learning and Illuminate Education, a leading K-12 student performance system, announce a new partnership. The new partnership provides schools and districts the ability to correlate learning gap assessments to digital curriculum, enabling individualized learning pathways for students in the critical subjects of Math and English Language Arts.

“We recognize the need to meaningfully link assessment data with effective and targeted instruction,” said Chris Porter, CEO, Apex Learning. “Especially in light of the profound impact of school closures due to COVID-19, and the challenges educators now face, efficient use of assessment information to drive individual student instruction is critically important.”

Apex Learning Courses curriculum seamlessly integrates with a district’s technical vision, simplifying the implementation from day one, but also supporting educator success throughout the process. Apex Learning Tutorials are used for grades 6-12 to strengthen skills, address learning gaps and provide personalized, scaffolded pathways for students to boost readiness to succeed on grade-level and provide students with opportunities for personalized acceleration.…Read More

UWorld Launches New Tools to Support Educators in Fostering AP® Success

UWorld, the worldwide leader in online learning to prepare for high-stakes exams, today announced the launch of AP® (Advanced Placement®) Learning Tools, a new College Readiness solution to help educators enhance instruction, improve student performance, and effectively prepare for AP exams. The tools save teachers time while enabling students to achieve their academic goals.

Forty percent of students who take AP exams only earn a score of 1 or 2, but studies show that students who score a 3 or higher are more likely to be successful in college and graduate. AP Learning Tools uses College Board®-level questions and clear, concise answer explanations to help students understand why they got an answer wrong, retain information, develop critical thinking skills, and deepen subject-area knowledge.

“Some 1.24 million students took an AP exam in 2019, and that number is predicted to grow year-over-year—and yet educators have little access to AP instruction and exam prep resources that are particularly effective in distance and hybrid learning environments,” said Chandra S. Pemmasani, M.D., UWorld’s founder and CEO. “With our AP Learning Tools, educators have access to progress and performance tracking that helps them identify gaps, modify instructional approaches, and support students—all from their computer.”

All of UWorld’s College Readiness solutions are developed using research-based educational strategies that support instruction, improve engagement, and build critical-thinking skills so that students have the knowledge and confidence to succeed. The answer choices used in AP Learning Tools are updated weekly to ensure alignment to current AP courses and exams. An easy-to-use assignment tool allows educators to customize assignments and integrate content into lessons. Plus, reporting tools provide meaningful insight into student AP performance at the classroom, school and district level.…Read More