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.

Texas Education Agency Names Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready® Assessment as an Approved Grade 7 Reading Instrument

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. — The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently named Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Assessment to its Commissioner’s List of Approved Grade 7 Reading Instruments. Starting this coming school year, districts and open-enrollment charter schools can now use the online program to assess all students whose performance on the Grade 6 STAAR Reading assessment did not demonstrate reading proficiency. Results from the reading assessments will help inform additional reading instruction and intervention for students.

“To increase literacy achievement throughout the state, it is essential that Texas educators have actionable data to help students, especially those who may need extra supports,” said Claudia Salinas, vice president of English Learning at Curriculum Associates. “With the recent approval by the TEA, teachers can now use i-Ready to quickly and efficiently collect—and utilize—important student data. This will help teachers personalize their instruction to support reading success while saving them time.”

TEA conducted a comprehensive review of submitted assessments. To receive approval, assessments must be based on current, published scientific research in reading, be age and grade-level appropriate, valid, and reliable, identify specific skill difficulties in word analysis, fluency, and comprehension, and assist the teacher in making individualized instructional decisions based on the assessment results.…Read More

PowerSchool Partners with Scribbles Software to add More than 2,000 Colleges to the Naviance eDocs Network

Charlotte, North Carolina – Scribbles Software today announced a partnership with PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, and PowerSchool Naviance. This partnership will nearly double the number of institutions in the Naviance eDocs network, greatly expanding college access for high school students.

Scribbles Software has served over 12 million students with transcript requests since 2012 and provides over 400 districts and charter schools with a best-in-class network to ensure easy and equitable access for students pursuing higher education. In the last year alone, Scribbles completed nearly one million electronic transcript requests from districts across the United States, including 25 of the 30 largest districts in the country.

“Scribbles is thrilled to partner with Naviance to expand access to a broader higher education network. Through this partnership, districts and schools will be able to empower more students to have more access to life-changing opportunities,” said Marshall Simmonds, Vice President of Sales for Scribbles Software.…Read More

New Mexico’s Middle College High School Selects Discovery Education’s Pivot Interactives to Support Student Science Explorations

Charlotte, NC —New Mexico’s Middle College High School, a public charter school within Gallup-McKinley County Public School District, today announced it has selected Discovery Education’s innovative digital resources to support student science explorations. In this new collaboration, Discovery Education’s Pivot Interactives will help students in the school’s high school physics class more deeply engage with phenomena and other scientific concepts as they develop their understanding of the discipline. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

Located in Gallup, New Mexico, the mission of Middle College High School (MCHS) is to provide an innovative and high-quality individualized learning environment for a distinct set of students. Operated in partnership with University of New Mexico-Gallup, MCHS provides a seamless educational continuum that benefits students as they move from high school to their post-secondary goals. MCHS is increasing student involvement in postsecondary education by emphasizing service to students of diverse backgrounds who are normally underrepresented at the local, regional, and national levels. 

MCHS’s leaders sought a new suite of high-quality, standards-aligned digital resources that could quickly be integrated into instruction and were adaptable enough to meet the needs of students’ varying learning styles. Following a careful review of potential solutions, school administrators selected Discovery Education’s Pivot Interactives for use in both middle and high school classrooms. …Read More

Online tutoring is changing how we support our students

As the latest results from the National Assessment of Academic Progress (NAEP) make clear, we have a long way to go to ensure that our students are achieving at grade level in reading and mathematics.

Yet, we don’t just want to address the gaps in students’ learning—we want to make sure each one of our students grows and advances.

At Baker Charter Schools, we’re a K–12 public charter school with students all over Oregon. Online tutoring gives our students access to the critical academic support they need, even outside traditional school hours. By making this support available to all our students, we’re not only closing opportunity gaps but helping students reach their full potential.…Read More

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How I make online teaching work as a high school educator

I have been teaching at traditional and charter schools for the past 18 years, and I remain encouraged by the determination of the students I serve, even when faced with the challenges we’ve seen over the past several years due to the pandemic.

It’s a humbling experience to be a part of their academic journey, knowing that in some way I played a role in their success. To provide positive and meaningful experiences for students makes me feel honored to be an educator.

Like many of my peers, however, the onset of COVID-19 showed me it was time to make changes in my career and put my needs first after nearly 20 years in the profession. I’ve always had a passion for traveling, exploring other cultures, and learning new things—part of the reason why I became a teacher.…Read More

Connecticut’s Jumoke Academy Charter School Selects Discovery Education Social Studies Services to Propel Student Success

SILVER SPRING, MD — Connecticut’s Jumoke Academy Charter School today announced a new partnership with Discovery Education, the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. This collaboration provides the educators at the Academy’s three campuses access to a suite of award-winning, digital resources that create enriching, real-world learning experiences and prepare scholars for citizenship in today’s culturally diverse, democratic society. 

A public charter school system located in Hartford, Jumoke Academy serves approximately 675 pre-kindergarten through eighth grade scholars across three campuses. Noted civil rights leader, educator, and child advocate Thelma Ellis Dickerson founded the Academy in 1997 to prepare children to overcome any cultural, social, or economic challenge and successfully compete in the global marketplace. 

Seeking a digital solution that would support deeper student engagement in social studies, the Academy reviewed several possible options. Following careful review, the Academy selected the following Discovery Education services for use across its three schools: …Read More

North Carolina Education Corps and Littera Education Partner to Improve Reading Achievement for North Carolina K-3 Students

New York — The North Carolina Education Corps (NCEC) will partner with Littera Education to support and improve reading outcomes for thousands of North Carolina students who need to get back on track after more than two years of learning interruptions.

Launched as a joint project of the North Carolina State Board of Education and the Office of the Governor as a response to the pandemic, NCEC now works with state-level agencies and local school districts as an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit to recruit, train and support part-time literacy tutors. This year, Corps members will deliver high-impact tutoring to K-3 students in over 30 districts and charter organizations throughout North Carolina.

The partnership with Littera will give NCEC unmatched ability to track and assess the instruction. Littera’s Academic Support Platform simplifies scheduling and matching tutors with students; it also enables easy data aggregation, including what skills students covered and the length of sessions. A new mobile app allows tutors to instantly log feedback and session data from their phones, giving program coordinators continuous feedback as they support over 500 Corps members serving students across the state.…Read More

Los Angeles Unified School District Offers Spectrum Enterprise Stay Connected K-12 Solution to Families as a Way to Receive Robust Home Internet Access at No Cost to Students

LOS ANGELES – Charter Communications, Inc. today announced that it is working with the  Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the country’s second largest school district, to help thousands of families who lack robust internet connectivity at home enroll in the  Spectrum Enterprise  Stay Connected K-12 solution, which is provided at no cost for students. The Stay Connected K-12 offering is part of the District’s broader efforts to help close the digital divide in its communities and make it easier for all students to fulfill their academic potential.

Stay Connected K-12 provides schools the ability to offer high-speed, reliable broadband internet access directly to their students in their own homes so learning and teaching are uninterrupted. Participating families are not billed for the service.

“Without reliable internet access, our students don’t have what they need to learn,” said Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of LAUSD. “It’s as simple as that. Los Angeles Unified is relentless in our efforts to equip our students with the resources they need to achieve their full academic potential.”…Read More

Bamboo Learning’s “Comprehension Through Conversation” EdTech Solution for K–5 Students Gaining Momentum

SEATTLE—March 7, 2022—Bamboo Learning, Inc. today announced that Bamboo learning EDU, the first “Comprehension Through Conversation” learning application for students in grades K through 5 introduced in January 2022, has been selected for an innovative student literacy pilot at the John Rex Charter School (JRCS) in Oklahoma City. JRCS, which was recognized as a 2020 National Blue Ribbon
School, seeks to determine the Bamboo Learning EDU solution’s impact on reading achievement, speaking fluency, vocabulary acquisition, and content knowledge-building among its economically and racially diverse student body. All JRCS students in grades K–1 have iPads for use at school, making the Bamboo Learning EDU iPad app an excellent fit.

Bamboo Learning also announced today that LearnPlatform, a nationally recognized edtech research company, has certified that the Bamboo Learning EDU solution meets the evidence requirements of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) aligning with Level IV “Demonstrates a Rationale” status. LearnPlatform’s team of researchers analyzed Bamboo Learning EDU’s foundational pedagogy, concluded that Bamboo Learning EDU’’s Logic Model is informed by high-quality research, and outlined the expected short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes.

“Bamboo Learning’s innovative ‘Comprehension Through Conversation’ approach to literacy has a solid grounding in existing research,” said Dr. Mary Styers, Director of Research at LearnPlatform. “By offering fiction and nonfiction books leveled by grade, and inviting students to use their voice to engage in reading & listening comprehension and vocabulary building activities, the product has a clear pathway
to improving student literacy.”…Read More

KIPP Public Schools Expands Partnership with YouScience Bringing Student Aptitude Assessments to 48 Schools Across the Nation

AMERICAN FORK, Utah, March 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Today,  YouScience announced its career guidance tool,  YouScience Discovery, is now available for students in 48  KIPP Public Schools, a network of national public charter schools. With the recent expansion, YouScience Discovery now reaches over 3,000 high school and 200 middle school students. Nearly 19,000 KIPP Public School students have taken the YouScience Discovery Assessment since the partnership began in 2016.

YouScience is the only provider of a fully-integrated platform that delivers highly accurate aptitude-based assessments, personalized career guidance, and industry-recognized certifications. With YouScience Discovery, KIPP students are provided with a proven, research-based assessment that empowers them to discover their aptitudes, eliminating their natural bias and showcasing opportunities for success.

“Knowing what students are good at, or their natural aptitude, is one of the most accurate measures of which careers they will excel in. It’s critical we help students understand this as early as possible, so that they can select the best educational pathway for themselves. In return, this will help combat the country’s current talent gap,” said Edson Barton, Founder and CEO of YouScience.…Read More