This press release was originally distributed by the Los Angeles Unified School District Office of Communications. You can find the Los Angeles Unified School District’s online version here.
LOS ANGELES (Monday, August 24, 2020) Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles Unified), Annenberg Learner and Discovery Education today launched a new partnership providing educators, students and families access to high-quality digital resources.
Through this new partnership, Los Angeles Unified educators, students and families are empowered to interact with more than 300,000 exciting digital resources, standards-aligned activities and vetted, high-quality content carefully curated by grade level. These new digital resources will play a critical role to support continued learning on any device; whether at home or in the classroom.
“We are grateful to Annenberg Learner and Discovery Education for helping us provide students with the tools they need to receive a great education.” said Austin Beutner, Los Angeles Unified Superintendent.
Through this new collaboration, all teachers and students in Los Angeles Unified will receive access to Discovery Education Experience. Experience – Discovery Education’s flexible, award-winning K-12 learning platform – was selected by Los Angeles Unified following a review that included an overwhelmingly positive response from educators. Experience connects educators to a vast collection of compelling high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons and professional learning resources. Together, these resources give educators what they need to facilitate instruction in any learning environment, with the ultimate goal of generating long-lasting educational impact.
“Los Angeles Unified has worked to create classrooms – and school communities – where all students, regardless of race, socioeconomic status or living situation, are honored for their assets and educated equitably with similar access to enrichment opportunities for growth and learning,” said Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, Los Angeles Unified Chief Academic Officer. “Our unique partnership with Discovery Education will help us extend these values into our virtual communities to ensure our teachers, students and families have what they need to be successful.”
Discovery Education’s team continues adding, contextualizing and organizing exciting new content and timely resources to Experience each month in response to current events and the ever-evolving needs of educators. These resources, sourced from trusted partners, are aligned to California standards, and help educators bring the outside world into teaching and learning every day.
“We all face a critical challenge as the pandemic continues,” said Wallis Annenberg, Chairman and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation. “How do we keep bolstering dynamic digital education content when so many children are learning at home – while also opening new doors to learning for everyone? This is something our foundation’s been engaged in for many decades now, especially with our Annenberg Learner initiative. That’s why I’m so proud to be helping Discovery and the LA public schools in this important endeavor, and making Learner’s incredible resources available to them.”
Discovery Education will incorporate Annenberg Learner content into Discovery Education Experience, which will enable even more educators, students and parents across the country the opportunity to engage with Annenberg Learner’s educational content.
To help educators integrate their new digital resources into instruction in the coming school year, Discovery Education will provide Los Angeles Unified teachers dedicated professional learning. Through these interactive professional development sessions, participants will learn best practices for using their new digital resources. Effective professional development will maximize the power of these digital resources, increase student engagement in instruction and support students’ continued academic development.
Discovery Education Experience also helps families engage in their child’s education. Experience is a one-stop shop in which families can discover dynamic resources to engage and support their children. From themed ‘grab & go’ daily activities to captivating virtual field trips to immersive student challenges, Experience offers resources to help students continue learning outside of the traditional school day.
Los Angeles Unified’s new partnership with Annenberg Learner and Discovery Education also provides access to the Discovery Education Community. 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. This community creates an opportunity for professionals to network, share ideas and inspire one another.
“We are incredibly excited to work alongside Los Angeles Unified’s teachers and the Annenberg Learner on this important initiative,” said Coni Rechner, Discovery Education Senior Vice President of National Education Partnerships. “Annenberg Learner and Los Angeles Unified have charted an innovative approach to addressing the challenge of providing all students an equitable opportunity to continue their education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are honored to be selected to support this tremendous effort.”
To learn more about Annenberg Learner, visit www.learner.org. For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com; stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook; follow @DiscoveryEd on Twitter or visit Instagram and Pinterest.
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About Annenberg Learner
Annenberg Learner is the education division of the Annenberg Foundation, created to advance excellent teaching in American schools. For more than three decades, Annenberg Learner has pursued this mission by funding and distributing multimedia resources, including video, print, and web materials, for the professional development of teachers (K-12 and college levels). These resources in all discipline areas help teachers to stay up-to-date in their fields and to use current learning research in their classrooms. More than 100 multimedia courses and workshops are streamed free through http://www.learner.org. As the name Annenberg Learner implies, its focus is on the teacher, as well as the student, as a learner.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Through its award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia resources, and the largest professional learning network of its kind, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning, creating immersive STEM experiences, and improving academic achievement around the globe. Discovery Education currently serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 140 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to empower teachers with customized solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.
Contacts:
Shannon Haber
LAUSD
Phone: 213-393-1289
Stephen Wakefield
Discovery Education
Phone: 202-316-6615
Elizabeth Armour
Annenberg Learner
Email: earmour@annenberg.org