Arizona’s Deer Valley Unified School District Launches New Collaboration with Discovery Education to Increase Student Engagement in Science Instruction Stephen Wakefield, Discovery Education240-662-5563, Stephen_Wakefield@discovery.com – New Science Digital Textbook and Professional Development Initiative Empowers Educators to Create Authentic Science Learning Environments Aligned with Arizona State Standards – Silver Spring, Md. (June 1, 2017) – Arizona’s Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) today announced a new collaboration with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms. Through this new partnership, district educators in Middle School and High School will be empowered with Discovery Education’s award-winning Science Techbooks™ and robust professional development to create authentic and engaging science learning environments that are aligned the Arizona State Standards. DVUSD’s new partnership with Discovery Education supports the district’s commitment to rigorously implementing Arizona’s Academic Content Standards of Science. Arizona’s schools have made sustaining student curiosity in the sciences a high priority. In addition, Arizona educators understand that the application of scientific thinking enables students to strengthen skills that people use every day: solving problems creatively, thinking critically, working cooperatively in teams, using technology effectively, and valuing lifelong learning. By integrating Discovery Education’s Science Techbooks into classroom instruction, DVUSD’s educators will be empowered to support these important goals through the delivery of standard-aligned instruction that meets each students’ unique needs while promoting higher-level thinking and questioning. Discovery Education’s award-winning Techbooks are breakthrough digital textbooks that are aligned to rigorous standards, support a comprehensive curriculum, and are updated regularly at no cost. The series encourages all learners through interactive features that change the reading level of text and enable text to be read aloud. The Techbook series saves teachers’ time with a comprehensive design that places model lessons, student activities and assessments at their fingertips. Techbooks are platform neutral and can be used in one-to-one or one-to-many configurations and in any instructional environment. Discovery Education’s Science Techbook series empowers educators to transform science instruction. Utilizing an inquiry-based format built on the Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate (5E) model, each Science Techbook includes rich, standards-aligned content such as video, audio, text, interactives with hands-on activities, and virtual labs that help educators differentiate instruction and provide a rich and engaging learning experience for students. Additional student features include bilingual text-to-speech and leveled reading tools, and note-taking and highlighting capabilities. The Science Techbooks series also includes valuable STEM resources as well. STEM Project Starters encourage students to connect math, technology, and engineering to their understanding of science concepts to produce creative solutions to real world problems. In addition, the STEM In Action resources help students connect their work to STEM careers, which promotes a clearer understanding of how skills used in school can be applied to jobs “in the real world.” Embedded formative assessment opportunities that help educators monitor student progress are embedded into each Techbook, and like all Discovery Education digital textbooks, the Science Techbooks work on any device and can be implemented in any instructional setting. “The Deer Valley Unified School District is fully committed to providing every student extraordinary educational opportunities that help them become lifelong learners who will successfully compete, lead and positively impact the world,” said Dr. James Veitenheimer, Superintendent at DVUSD. “We are excited to launch this new partnership with Discovery Education, as together, we will create dynamic, standard-aligned digital classrooms that will engage all learners.” DVUSD’s educators will also receive sustained, job-embedded professional development from Discovery Education’s expert faculty. This professional development will help district educators evolve their teaching practice and effectively use their new digital resources. Also, the Discovery Education Community will support DVUSD’s educators’ efforts to transform students’ learning experiences with dynamic digital media. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration. “Discovery Education is proud to be a part of Deer Valley Unified School District’s efforts to help each student not only understand the world around them, but also develop the important critical thinking, collaboration and communication skills needed for success beyond the classroom,” said Andrew Bradigan, Discovery Education Regional Vice President. “We look forward to working with the talented DVUSD team on this new initiative.” For more information about the Discovery Education Techbook series, Professional Development Initiatives, or other services and resources from Discovery Education, visit: www.discoveryeducation.com. ### About Discovery EducationDiscovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.