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Back Office Business

10/30/2012 By:

Challenge: The Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM) wanted to provide Maine’s schools with namebrand audio books.

Solution: ACTEM chose Tales2Go, which streams thousands of audio books to desktops and mobile devices in classrooms. “Nothing is more important than getting students excited about and skilled at reading, particularly by 3rd grade,” says Gary Lanoie, executive director at ACTEM.

Challenge: Administrators at Conway Public Schools in Arkansas wanted to find a cost-effective way to offer a scalable approach to help at-risk students address skill gaps.

Solution: They expanded their use of Lexia Reading to all 14 elementary and middle schools across the district. Students work independently on Lexia Reading and receive structured practice on foundational reading skills. The program includes an embedded assessment feature and automatically provides educators with real-time data on skill gaps.

Challenge: Oakland USD in California needed to help students accelerate their acquisition of cognitive, language, and reading skills.

Solution: The district partnered with Scientific Learning Corporation to implement Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant in 15 schools. One Title 1 school achieved double-digit gains on the California Standards Tests in English language arts and math, and the percentage of students in grades 2-5 performing at proficient and advanced levels on the CSTs jumped from 17 percent to 41 percent in English language arts.

Challenge: Although Liberty Common High School, a parent-run charter school in Colorado, did not have an on-campus library or resource center, the school wanted to offer students and faculty the opportunity to use the same resources found in traditional school libraries.

Solution: The school partnered with Jones e-Global Library to offer the company’s grades 9-12, college-ready edition of its digital library service. Students and teachers can read articles, eBooks, and journals, conduct research, and access resources for specific courses from any computer connected to the Internet. “As students interact with academic journals, eBooks, and lectures, they are building the foundation for success in their post-secondary studies,” says Bob Schaffer, principal of Liberty Common High School.

Challenge: Educators at two elementary schools in Houston, Texas needed to boost achievement and engagement in reading.

Solution: After students used Pearson’s SuccessMaker Reading, a digitally adaptive program for grades K-8 that personalizes reading instruction, both schools saw accelerated achievement and increased student engagement in learning. “Even our struggling learners showed significant growth from beginning to end,” says Cherie Steadman, peer-reading coordinator at Kruse Elementary School in Pasadena. “The students enjoy the games and aren’t even aware they are gaining skills as they play. Teachers truly appreciate the feedback the reports provide as they allow for immediate input to support Response to Intervention in their classrooms.”