Nebraska’s Raymond Central School District Expands Collaboration with Discovery Education to Accelerate Efforts to Prepare all Students for College and Career
Partnership Expansion Provides Students Access to Engaging Science and Math Lessons in the Classroom or Remote Environment
Silver Spring, Md. (Wednesday, May 6, 2020) Nebraska’s Raymond Central Public Schools (RCPS) today announced the expansion of its multi-year collaboration with Discovery Education. In the latest stage of this partnership, Discovery Education will empower RCPS’s K-12 educators districtwide with a unique science curriculum solution and robust capacity building model. Together, these resources will help RCPS educators accelerate the district’s vision to graduate every student college and career ready either in the classroom or in a remote environment. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.
RCPS is a consolidated public school district located approximately 12 miles northwest of Lincoln, serving the communities of Davey, Raymond, Agnew, Ceresco, and Valparaiso. Dedicated to empowering all students to be problem solvers and independent learners prepared for college and career success, RCPS sought a suite of math and science digital curriculum resources that would support this mission either in the classroom or in the remote environment. Following a review of possible solutions, the district selected Discovery Education’s ScienceX and Math Techbook as its digital curriculum solution. The ScienceX suite of resources is comprised of the following award-winning Discovery Education services:
Discovery Education Science Techbook and print resources. Science Techbook empowers educators to transform science instruction through a seamless print and digital curriculum that includes video, audio, text, interactives, 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 Spanish/English text-to-speech, leveled reading tools, note-taking and highlighting capabilities. Science Techbook also includes valuable STEM resources including STEM Project Starters that 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.”
Discovery Education Experience. The latest iteration of Discovery Education’s popular Streaming Plus service, Discovery Education Experience is a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K–12 curricular areas. Discovery Education Experience assists educators in creating real-world learning opportunities that engage all students and lead to improved academic achievement. The service’s standards-aligned content is assignable and can be bookmarked and saved for later use and remixed to meet the varying needs of diverse student populations in a safe and secure environment. In addition, the service’s up-to-date, high-quality, and ever-growing digital content collections, as well as a library of immersive virtual field trips and viewing parties, are drawn from trusted partners.
Discovery Education Professional Learning. With Discovery Education’s Professional Learning, educators will learn how to use their new digital resources. In addition, participating teachers will explore best practices for integrating technology and digital content into instruction and discover new ways to increase student engagement and improve academic achievement.
ScienceX also includes ready-to-use instructional strategies, and the grab-and-go lab materials teachers need to support the learning needs of every student regardless of abilities, learning styles, and language needs.
“Providing all district students meaningful, engaging science and math lessons is a critical component of our ongoing effort to prepare each learner for success beyond graduation,” said Raymond Central Public Schools’ Superintendent Derrick Joel. “With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the flexibility to provide students those lessons either in the classroom or remotely took on greater importance. We are excited to continue our partnership with Discovery Education, because no matter where our students are, exciting science and math lessons that prepare them for life beyond their K-12 experience are just a few clicks away.”
In addition to the ScienceX suite of services, RCPS’s educators will also use Discovery Education’s Math Techbook for instruction. Discovery Education’s award-winning Techbooks are fully interactive, comprehensive digital textbooks currently used by more than 9.2 million students across all 50 states and Canada. Updated regularly at no cost, Discovery Education’s Techbooks provide educators detailed lesson plans, embedded formative assessments, hands-on activities, digital simulations, and robust teacher supports that immerse students in instruction.
Through a deep collection of unparalleled digital assets and an accompanying print resources, the Math Techbook empowers educators to create engaging, blended learning environments. The Math Techbook also connects students to mathematics through real-world problems worth solving, combines conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application to help all students develop a long-lasting mastery of mathematics. The Math Techbook has been independently verified by EdReports.org as meeting the highest levels of mathematical content and pedagogy.
In addition to supporting RCPS’ efforts to improve college and career readiness, the expansion of the district’s partnership with Discovery Education expands teacher capacity. Through Discovery Education’s STEM Leader Corps capacity building model, district administrators and participating teachers will learn new strategies and best practices for building and sustaining a culture of STEM in their schools. With a focus on developing high-quality STEM instruction, creating interdisciplinary lessons and units, and vertically aligning STEM education across all middle schools, STEM Leader Corp will provide the robust professional development, job-embedded coaching, and administrative leadership support necessary to create centers of STEM excellence.
Diane Wolfe, the manager of Digital Learning Services for Nebraska’s Education Service Unit 2 and author of the grant that underwrote RCPS’s expanded partnership with Discovery Education, said, “The Raymond Central Public Schools have taken a very thoughtful approach to deepening its relationship with Discovery Education. By offering professional development opportunities that ensure district educators are prepared to use their new digital resources, the district is creating an environment in which classroom teachers can maximize the school system’s technology investment.”
The continuation of RCPS’s partnership with Discovery Education ensures district teachers ongoing 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, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing, and inspiration.
“Discovery Education is proud to expand its deep partnership with the Raymond Central Public Schools,” said Nellie Fisher, Discovery Education’s Senior Manager of Education Partnerships. “Superintendent Joel and his team have laid out a comprehensive approach to preparing all students for future success no matter where they are, and we are excited to be a part of their innovative effort to achieve this goal.”
For more information about Nebraska’s Raymond Central Public Schools, visit the district website here.
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Discovery Education is offering schools and school systems not currently using the company’s digital services free access to Discovery Education Experience. Schools accepting this offer will have access to Discovery Education’s dynamic K-12 learning platform and its ready-to-use digital lesson plans, activities, and standards-aligned resources through the remainder of the school year. In addition, Discovery Education is offering a suite of no cost resources for parents and caregivers called Daily DE that can be used at home. For more information, visit Discovery Education’s comprehensive Virtual Learning resource website dedicated to helping educators adapt their instruction to meet today’s needs.
For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.
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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.
Contact:
Discovery Education
Stephen Wakefield
Email: SWakefield@discoveryed.com
Phone: (202) 316-6615