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.

Introducing My PowerSchool: An Intuitive User Experience Empowering Families, Staff, and Administrators

FOLSOM, CALIF. – PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced the release of My PowerSchool, a cohesive user experience that consolidates all relevant information and applications into a single, streamlined platform. My PowerSchool simplifies how families interact with their children’s school and how school technology leaders manage their PowerSchool solutions by providing a central point of access based on if the user is an educator, student, or family member. My PowerSchool Family, the first release of the My PowerSchool experiences, will be available in the fall, allowing families and educators to share one source of information, including grades, attendance, assignments, calendar, completed and in-progress forms, behavior, and fees, in a seamless experience.

“My PowerSchool marks a significant milestone in empowering the education community,” said Marcy Daniel, Chief Product Officer, PowerSchool. “This new release will provide an upgraded experience to families using the current family portal in PowerSchool SIS and showcases our commitment to providing user-centric solutions that streamline processes, enhance communication, and foster collaboration among families, staff, and administrators.”

My PowerSchool Family will provide users with multiple benefits including:…Read More

This key strategy can help boost teacher well-being immediately

Key points:

  • Teachers have juggled so much during the pandemic and the return to school–it’s no wonder they’re burnt out
  • High-quality substitutes are key to teachers’ ability to take breaks, and technology can aid in recruiting subs
  • See related article: Survey highlights troubling teacher morale issues

In the wake of the pandemic, student mental health is a top concern for K-12 leaders, as it should be. But teacher wellness is also at crisis levels, and this has important implications for the quality of education that students receive.

When education shifted online in spring 2020, teachers had to learn new technologies and instructional strategies in a very short amount of time. Many endured the loss of friends and family members to COVID-related illness. When school districts returned to in-person learning, several teachers worried about their own safety. Teachers have had to deal with a sharp rise in behavioral issues and address a growing number of social-emotional needs among their students. They’ve worked long hours to facilitate learning recovery.…Read More

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Ellipsis Education Launches the Curriculum Delivery Platform

CARMEL, Ind. – Ellipsis Education, a leader in computer science curriculum for K-12 education, has launched the Curriculum Delivery Platform (CDP) that will provide everything educators need to teach computer science in one place.

The CDP is an online portal where teachers access and navigate Ellipsis courses. Designed to be mobile-responsive, the CDP makes the curriculum teachers know and love easier to use. Features of the CDP include:

  • Streamlined organization; 
  • Increased access to resources; 
  • Improved look and feel;
  • Access to a standards map on the lesson-level page; and 
  • Easier movement between courses.

“We hope that teachers will find this delivery tool efficient to use and attractive to view,” said Dr. Whitney Dove, CEO at Ellipsis Education. “Our goal is to put the curriculum at teachers’ fingertips, so they spend less time gathering their materials and more time doing what they do best—teaching!”…Read More

Aperture Education Honors 15 Districts and 19 New York City Schools for Focus on Social-Emotional Learning 

CHARLOTTE, NC – Aperture Education, the leading provider of research-based social and emotional learning (SEL) assessments for K-12 schools, honored 19 New York City schools as SEL Champions for successful integrating high-quality SEL programs into the fabric of their school communities. 

“New York City doubled down on their investment in SEL to enrich students’ lives and prepare them for success throughout life by adding support staff, partnering with Urban Assembly to measure success, and closely integrating SEL into the academic curriculum,” said Jessica Adamson, Chief Strategy Officer, Aperture Education. “The schools honored as our SEL Champions show what can be accomplished when using SEL data to create safe and positive environments for learning, and emphasize a holistic approach to student success and career readiness.”

Superintendents awarded for exemplary use of the DESSA in their districts are:…Read More

Aldine ISD Gets 100% STAAR Pass Rate in Algebra 1 Pilot Program

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in AI-driven technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12 education, today announced that 100% of the students in the Aldine Independent School District (ISD) – one of the largest districts in Houston, Texas – passed the Algebra 1 STAAR test on their first try in a pilot program using the Texas Math Solution.

The challenge Aldine ISD faced at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year was to prepare their students for the redesign of the math State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR), which added non-multiple-choice questions to align with the deep critical thinking and conceptual mathematics learning students should be doing in class.

“The STAAR redesign increases the level of rigor,” said Tiana Rodriguez, Program Director of Middle School Mathematics. “There’s no hack or trick to it, so we need our kids to be able to think for themselves, problem-solve and persevere. To do that on the test, they must do it in class. The Texas Math Solution gives them that opportunity.”…Read More

Virginia Chooses iteach as the Alternative Teacher Certification Provider for 24 Divisions of the Commonwealth

DENTON, Texas — In an effort to fill more than 3,500 teaching vacancies, the Virginia Department of Education has chosen iteach as the identified partner for alternative teachers certification in 24 divisions of the Commonwealth. Now, Virginians with bachelor’s degrees can use iteach’s innovative hybrid model to navigate the process of becoming certified K-12 educators.

“The program will help us build a larger applicant pool to include current teacher assistants and substitute teachers who possess a bachelor’s degree,” said Paige Tucker, director, talent acquisition and management-licensed staffing in the Department of Human Resources at Arlington Public Schools. “iteach can be utilized with our current provisional teachers as a more affordable and efficient alternative to obtaining their license. iteach will also help us recruit in our most high-need areas, which include special education and elementary.” 

For aspiring teachers who have completed a bachelor’s degree, the iteach program offers a 1-year path to teacher certification, making it both faster and less expensive than certification through a university. Teachers complete iteach coursework online on a flexible schedule, and earn full pay while they complete their in-classroom teaching requirements. While they’re enrolled, they have free access to the Teaching Channel professional development platform and test prep from Passage Preparation. Once they’re hired, the district will assign each new teacher a Classroom Supervisor to help them navigate the challenges of their first year in the classroom. …Read More

Gaggle Launches 24/7 Student Crisis Line, Powered by AWS, and Staffed by Trained Crisis Counselors

Dallas, Texas (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gaggle’s new ReachOut student crisis line has launched and is rolling out to K-12 districts nationwide, helping schools immediately support students with live, trained crisis counselors.

Today’s youth continue to struggle with their mental and emotional health. They often don’t have a trusted adult they can reach out to. The CDC released a harrowing report on February 13, 2023 noting the severity of the student mental health and safety crisis. Mental health among students overall continues to worsen, with more than 40% of high school students feeling so sad or hopeless that they could not engage in their regular activities for at least two weeks during the previous year. In 2021, 22% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide, while 18% made a suicide plan during the past year.

To help fight our nation’s youth mental health crisis, Gaggle ReachOut, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), provides in-the-moment support from crisis-trained counselors for students experiencing anxiety, depression, bullying, abuse, and suicide ideation. Gaggle ReachOut was built on AWS and utilizes Amazon Connect, an easy-to-use, cost-effective, omnichannel cloud contact center.…Read More

10 instructional strategies that lead to academic growth

Key points:

A deeper look into instructional practices driving high academic growth has revealed 10 instructional strategies that use small changes to teaching practices leading toward growth outcomes for students.

The findings come from a new study from K-12 assessment and research organization NWEA. Led by Dr. Chase Nordengren, principal research lead for Effective Instructional Strategies at NWEA, the study zoomed into two schools that have historically shown high growth for diverse populations of students, including through the pandemic. The findings …Read More

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Guiding culturally responsive teaching in today’s classrooms

Key points:

Equity is a widely-used term in education today.

However, talking about equity is not the same as taking action to create more equitable learning environments that benefit today’s students. For equity to truly exist, educators need to be more culturally responsive in their teaching.…Read More

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