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.

Level Data, Inc. Acquires GlimpseK12

KALAMAZOO, Michigan – Return on Investment (ROI) is one of the leading financial measuring tools for businesses and industries everywhere, including school districts. But another ROI is even more important to schools, Return on Instruction.

Level Data, Inc., North America’s leading school and student data validation software provider serving more than 7 million in student population, announces it has purchased Glimpse K12, a school curriculum measurement tool that shows district leaders which education programs are being utilized, and their effects on student progress, so data-based decision making can occur by school leadership in both forms of ROI.

“We optimize school spending around what works for students,” said Nicole Pezent of Glimpse K12. “The Glimpse platform strategically aligns everything the district is doing to raise student achievement, captures how they are implementing it, and measures these activities versus student outcomes. Administrators receive return-on-investment and return-on-instruction reports to guide future decisions.…Read More

Aperture Education Honors 15 Districts and 19 New York City Schools for Focus on Social-Emotional Learning 

CHARLOTTE, NC – Aperture Education, the leading provider of research-based social and emotional learning (SEL) assessments for K-12 schools, honored 19 New York City schools as SEL Champions for successful integrating high-quality SEL programs into the fabric of their school communities. 

“New York City doubled down on their investment in SEL to enrich students’ lives and prepare them for success throughout life by adding support staff, partnering with Urban Assembly to measure success, and closely integrating SEL into the academic curriculum,” said Jessica Adamson, Chief Strategy Officer, Aperture Education. “The schools honored as our SEL Champions show what can be accomplished when using SEL data to create safe and positive environments for learning, and emphasize a holistic approach to student success and career readiness.”

Superintendents awarded for exemplary use of the DESSA in their districts are:…Read More

Swing Education Raises $38 Million in Series C Funding

SAN FRANCISCO  – Swing Education, an online marketplace that connects schools and substitute teachers, announced today $38 million in Series C funding. The funding round was led by funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”), a leading global private equity advisory firm, and by edtech investment firm Reach Capital. The funding enables Swing Education to invest in its growth and better address the nation-wide substitute teacher shortage.

This financing follows a 2018 Series B funding co-led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Owl Ventures and a seed round from a consortium that included Social Capital, Kapor Capital, Moment Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Red House Education, and Edovate Capital.

Swing believes that every classroom deserves a teacher, and every student deserves to learn without disruption. Since its founding in 2015, Swing has worked to improve the experience of being a substitute teacher and made it easier for K-12 schools to grow and manage their substitute teacher pools. Swing currently works with over 2,800 school partners and in the 2022-23 school year has supported these schools in filling over one million instructional hours with substitute teachers. …Read More

Millwood Public Schools receives $116,000 from Paycom, benefitting marching band, music program

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Paycom Software Inc. (NYSE:PAYC),  a leading provider of HR software, gave $116,000 to the Millwood Enrichment Foundation as part of a two-year commitment to the school district. The donation is an investment in the future of Millwood Public Schools and brings new resources that support ongoing and new educational programming. One specific area the funding will impact is Millwood’s expanding marching band program. 

“We greatly appreciate this generous donation from Paycom,” said Milo Wilson, president of Millwood Enrichment Foundation. “The funding will help to provide ongoing support for programs at the district and further improve the quality of education in our schools, specifically to improve our music education programs and provide new instruments for students who participate in band.” 

Millwood’s marching band has grown from around a dozen students in 2019 to over 70 students from grades 6-12 today. The first installment of the two-year financial gift from Paycom of $54,000 will directly support this important program. …Read More

How learning science informs edtech product development

It’s no secret that the pandemic shift to remote learning resulted in boom times for edtech. Market intelligence firm HolonIQ expects global edtech spend to reach $300 billion in 2022 and up to $404 billion in 2025. The growth is fueling investment, too, as last year venture capital tripled over pre-pandemic levels.

But is all that money well spent on learning products with proven efficacy in the classroom, or are those billions going toward technology for technology’s sake?

With the boom in edtech and so many shiny, new product offerings on the market, it’s essential for educators to select tools they can trust will have a long-term impact on learning. More often than not, these are the tools that have prioritized learning science in their product design, to guide product vision and focus.…Read More

HMH to Acquire NWEA

Boston and Portland, Ore.—Learning technology company  HMH and  NWEA, a not-for-profit, research and educational services organization serving K-12 students, announced today they have signed an agreement for HMH to acquire NWEA. Upon closing, NWEA will operate as a division of HMH, with its current offerings, including its flagship assessment—MAP Growth—remaining under the NWEA brand. NWEA assessment solutions will be integrated with HMH curriculum on HMH’s platform to create a combined offering that links interim assessment to instruction. HMH is a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, a private investment firm that focuses on companies that provide technology and technology-enabled solutions to government and commercial customers worldwide.

By combining NWEA’s assessments with HMH’s curriculum, HMH is expected to deliver a holistic solution for educators that helps them understand how students are growing academically and what areas need the most focus to maximize that growth. Most importantly, this solution will turn insights from assessments into content recommendations that help teachers address student-specific skill gaps and advance student learning.

“We are thrilled at the potential this acquisition brings for K-12 educators, at a time when the connection between instruction and assessment is increasingly critical for student success,” said Jack Lynch, CEO of HMH. “HMH and NWEA have great alignment in mission and long-term vision and share the collective belief in the transformative power of education. Both teams are deeply focused on helping all children learn and serve millions of K-12 educators and students across the globe.”…Read More

STEM learning makes this educator shine

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 7th most-read story focuses on a Hero Awards winner dedicated to STEM education.

One of three eSN K-12 Hero Awards winners and nominated by Bluum, Kim Leblanc was selected for the innovative STEM learning initiatives she champions in her district and for her students.

Conventional wisdom would say that economically disadvantaged schools across the country would need to think twice before making a major investment in technology. However, not all districts in that predicament have a technology director like Kim Leblanc.…Read More

Predicting innovation trajectories in K-12 education

There are lots of promising innovations in tiny pockets of the education system, but decades of advocacy and investment have failed to see those innovations scale. How can we better predict which innovations flourish and which founder?”

My last blog post argued that new value networks are the missing enablers for disrupting the conventional model of K–12 schooling. But the concept of value networks can do more than explain why disruptive models struggle to take root. All organizations live within value networks. And analyzing an organization’s value network makes clear whether and how it will approach potential improvements and innovations.

What are value networks?…Read More

Dedication to STEM learning makes this eSN Hero Awards winner a standout leader

One of three eSN K-12 Hero Awards winners and nominated by Bluum, Kim Leblanc was selected for the innovative STEM learning initiatives she champions in her district and for her students.

Conventional wisdom would say that economically disadvantaged schools across the country would need to think twice before making a major investment in technology. However, not all districts in that predicament have a technology director like Kim Leblanc.

Calcasieu Parish School Board is the fifth-largest school district in Louisiana, resting in the southwest part of the state. In total, the district serves 29,500 students across 60 elementary, middle, and high schools. It is a 100 percent CEP district, which means that every student is eligible for free lunch based on the economic poverty data submitted to the federal government.…Read More

1 2