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.

The National Center on Intensive Intervention Adds Classworks® Evidence-Based Reading Intervention to Academic Interventions Tools Chart

Classworks®, an award-winning special education and tiered intervention platform, is validated by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) as an evidence-based reading intervention. The best-in-class program is listed on the  Academic Intervention Tools Chart and joins Classworks Universal Screener and Progress Monitoring in the company’s highly rated, NCII-validated offerings.

“We are excited to see Classworks Reading Intervention added to our portfolio of NCII-validated resources. For 20 years, districts across the country have used Classworks individualized interventions as an essential component of their DBI processes with  tremendous results,” says Melissa Sinunu, Classworks president and chief operating officer. “The recent focus on literacy across the country makes it more important than ever for districts to have access to evidence-based, impactful reading resources. We are proud that Classworks meets NCII’s rigorous technical standards for inclusion.”

NCII is a nationally recognized organization whose mission is to “support the implementation of intensive intervention for students with severe and persistent learning and social, emotional, or behavioral needs using data-based individualization (DBI).” For the Academic Intervention Tool review, NCII’s Technical Review Committee examined study quality and design, psychometric reliability of study measures, and outcome measures, among other qualifications. Classworks Reading Intervention received convincing and partially convincing evidence in the categories of Study Design, Participants, and Broader Measures.…Read More

Friday 5: The pivotal role of school libraries

Key points:

School libraries have evolved from stereotypical hush-hush environments to bustling resource centers where students not only learn to locate and evaluate information, but where they develop critical skills guided by digital media specialists.

Let’s take a look at what makes libraries such critical parts of the school environment:…Read More

EPS School Specialty Launches as EPS Learning, a Literacy-Focused Company

NASHUA, N.H./PRNewswire-PRWeb/ —  EPS School Specialty, a leading provider of PreK–12 supplemental ELA and math solutions, announces the launch of EPS Learning, a new, standalone company focused on literacy as the springboard to lifelong learning and opportunity. EPS Learning will enable teachers to support PreK–12 students across all tiers of instruction through the EPS Literacy Framework, which includes print and digital solutions anchored in the science of reading.

“Today marks a shift for our team as a burgeoning company that’s deliberate in its focus on high-quality literacy solutions,” said Steven Guttentag, Chief Executive Officer at EPS Learning. “EPS Learning embodies our dedication to combining the best of print and digital resources—empowering educators to meet the diverse needs of today’s striving readers. Our focused efforts and investments will further accelerate the ability of our solutions to support each student’s unique journey toward literacy and beyond. And, this is just the beginning as we’ll soon announce a significant technology enhancement that will further punctuate our commitment to providing our partners with the most effective literacy solutions.”

Schools and districts across the country have seen a  significant decline in their students’ reading achievement and low reading scores have persisted for over 30 years. Learning disruptions resulting from the pandemic exacerbated these challenges, making it more evident than ever that student reading proficiency is in crisis. With mounting pressure on educators and districts to implement high-quality, high-impact, evidence-based reading programs, EPS Learning provides educators with a robust, comprehensive suite of solutions grounded in research.…Read More

The 5 best ways to celebrate CTE Month 2024

This post on CTE Month originally appeared on iCEV’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

As a career and technical education (CTE) teacher, you know the importance of preparing students for the workforce–no matter which CTE career cluster or pathway they follow.…Read More

Summarized transcription versus real-time captioning: What’s best?

Key points:

In recent years, the education sector has rapidly adopted captioning, driven not only by its positive impact on comprehension and inclusive learning but also by the necessity of adhering to accessibility standards and providing accommodations for diverse learning styles.

While K-12 schools and higher-ed institutions have spent considerable effort adhering to accessibility standards (and should be applauded for that effort), one in four lawsuits in education center around accessibility. Thus, the focus on captioning–a requirement in K-12 and higher education–has intensified.…Read More

Savvas Learning Company Acquires Outlier.org 

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today announced that it has acquired Outlier.org, an edtech startup that has created a portfolio of high-quality, turnkey, online college-level courses that enable high school students to earn dual credit while never having to leave their school building.  

Outlier.org combines cinematic video and charismatic professors with the best in modern, evidence-based teaching techniques to virtually transport the student to a college lecture hall. Its diverse catalog of award-winning courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are taught by hand-picked, world-class instructors from NASA, MIT, Harvard, Yale, and other top institutions.  

“There’s a growing demand for dual-enrollment and dual-credit opportunities for high school students across the country,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company, noting, however, that school administrators have long faced challenges when considering these programs for their students, such as limited course offerings, along with costly transportation and other logistical issues. …Read More

Friday 5: Tracking AI in education

Key points:

It seems as if we hear about AI in education every day, if not every hour. AI’s rise in popularity has brought with it questions about ethics, skills students will need for workplace success, and how to balance negatives with positives when it comes to teaching with this new generative tool.

Here are five insights around AI in education:…Read More

3 strategies to support inclusive learning

Key points:

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), passed in 1975, ensures that eligible children with disabilities receive free public education along with the services they need to succeed. The IDEA act also guarantees that students with disabilities have the right to engage in the Least Restrictive Learning Environment (LRE) that best meets their individual needs.

The LRE ensures that students under IDEA are offered equitable access to education alongside their non-disabled peers. Under these requirements, special education students should be in the same classrooms as their peers to the maximum appropriate extent. The goal isn’t to make sure that special education students are in the mainstream classroom as much as possible, but to allow students to engage in a classroom setting that is the most beneficial to their academic success and development and to have equal opportunities to their peers. This requires some training for educators on how to create more inclusive classrooms.…Read More

Ensure Your District is Data Ready with this Free Playbook

Unprecedented funding has flowed into districts over the last several years as part of pandemic support and recovery efforts. As a result of this increased investment in technology, schools are generating more valuable data than ever—but much of that data isn’t readily available and actionable because it’s siloed in systems that aren’t connected to each other.

Simultaneously, with NAEP scores showing declining progress across the United States, school districts are trying to understand the scope of educational inequities and narrow equity gaps. However, it’s challenging to understand the root cause of these issues and to determine how best to address them without whole child insights made possible through interoperability—the seamless, secure, and controlled exchange of data between applications.

4 Key Considerations Around Data Interoperability for 2024…Read More

How to Create a Culture-Conscious Campus

The Culture Conscious Campuses Model which has been approved by the Texas Education Agency commissioner as a research-based instructional model with proven results in increasing academic success for African American students as well as students from low socio-economic backgrounds, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Host Kevin Hogan talks to the author.

The computer-generated transcript is below:

Kevin Hogan…Read More