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

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

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

Dallas ISD Selects Carnegie Learning Math Curriculum for all Secondary Schools

PITTSBURGH–( BUSINESS WIRE)– Carnegie Learning, a leader in AI-driven technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12 education, today announced a new partnership with all Dallas Independent School District (ISD) middle and high schools to provide math education for over 66,000 students. The program starts this fall.

The second-largest public school district in Texas, Dallas ISD encompasses 12 counties and is recognized as one of the fastest-improving school districts in America. Led by Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, the district is committed to providing the highest-quality math curriculum for students.

According to Executive Director of STEM at Dallas ISD Michael Ruiz, Carnegie Learning’s Texas Math Solution provided a new approach to teaching math. “For me, it was really clear how the curriculum was going to benefit secondary students. Carnegie is taking the parts and changing the way we put them together and doing it in a way that makes sense for more kids. Once we started with the program, it was a snowball of success.”…Read More

Carnegie Learning Announces New Chief Revenue Officer

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in AI-driven technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12 education, today announced that Chris Hedrick is joining the company as Chief Revenue Officer. Chris will sit on the new Carnegie Learning Executive Leadership Team reporting to CEO Barry Malkin.

Chris joins Carnegie Learning from Scholastic, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Sales. He brings nearly thirty years of experience in sales and revenue management in K-12 education, working with some of the most respected companies in the field. 

Prior to his tenure at Scholastic, Chris worked with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Cambium Learning, where he held various sales leadership roles and contributed significantly to the growth and success of those organizations. With this experience, Chris brings a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of educators and school districts.…Read More

Labor market problems start with the K-12 system

The U.S. has a two-pronged labor market problem: a labor shortage and a skills gap. If every unemployed individual in the U.S. found a job right now, there would still be 4 million open jobs. Furthermore, a National Federation of Independent Business survey found that 54 percent of business owners struggle to hire qualified workers. As it becomes increasingly evident that schools are not providing students with the requisite skills to succeed in the labor market, the root of the persistent labor shortage and skills gap in the U.S. can be traced back to the K-12 education system.

However, career and technical education (CTE) programs have shown great promise in addressing this issue. The Department of Education (ED) notes that students who focus on CTE courses in high school have higher median annual earnings, graduation rates, and employment rates than non-CTE students. Despite the proven efficacy of CTE programs, inadequate federal investment remains a primary barrier to implementing successful programs nationwide.

It’s essential to adopt new funding methods and policies to mitigate this barrier, expand CTE programs in K-12 schools, and encourage widespread adoption of these programs to bridge the skills gap and foster student success. Like most education programs, CTE programs are primarily funded by state and local resources. Accordingly, increasing the implementation rates will be predicated on encouraging outside funding sources, such as private-sector partnerships and philanthropic organizations, to bridge the gap in federal funding and support the growth of CTE programs.…Read More

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Let’s perfect existing tech solutions before rushing into AI

ChatGPT is barely six months old, but AI is already a buzzword in K-12 education.

It grabbed the attention of decision makers immediately, earning a ban from NYC schools in January of 2023, with other large districts following. Others are embracing the technology, with voices like Sal Khan encouraging educators to teach with AI.

As school leaders rush to take sides, it’s important to remember AI is unproven and unvetted, especially for school and district-level solutions. Instead, it’s critical for leaders to realize that most schools can greatly improve how they manage critical daily functions using existing, effective, and easy-to-implement technology.…Read More

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Carnegie Learning Adds Multilingual Math and Literacy Tutors in Gadsden ISD

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in K-12 education innovation, high-quality products and services, and AI, announced today that the company has added new multilingual and bilingual certified math and literacy instructors to the high-dosage tutoring team in Gadsden County, New Mexico, to meet the needs of students in the state’s fourth-largest school district.

“It’s gratifying to see improvements in student proficiency and attendance as well as increasing parent participation in the Gadsden Independent School District (ISD),” said Courtney Lewis, Vice President of Tutoring Services at Carnegie Learning. “The results are impressive. We have been able to fulfill 100% of the requests from students and families in Gadsden ISD who requested a bilingual tutor. We’ve also appointed a bilingual tutor as a liaison to answer questions from families in their native language. Families have a direct dial number to call the liaison directly for support.” 

Lewis recently presented a webinar on how to partner with a high-dosage tutoring provider to launch an effective summer school program.…Read More

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