Arizona’s Dysart Unified School District Launches New Partnership with Discovery Education Focused on Driving Deeper Student Engagement in Elementary and Middle School Science Lessons
-High-Quality Digital Science Curriculum to Help District Educators Create New Academic Pathways Aligned to State Standards-
Silver Spring, MD (February 12, 2019)– Discovery Education is excited to announce a new partnership with Arizona’s Dysart Unified School District (DUSD). Discovery Education is the leading provider of digital curriculum, content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. In this new collaboration, DUSD’s educators will soon begin creating engaging science lessons powered by Discovery Education’s high-quality digital curriculum and aligned to Arizona’s Science Standards in all elementary and middle school classrooms across the district.
Ensuring students are equipped with the skills necessary to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century society is at the heart of DUSD’s mission. Serving 24,000 pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students in the Northwest Phoenix Metropolitan area, DUSD offers one of the largest selections of academic pathways in the state and provides each student a personalized learning experience. The desire to further personalize each student’s learning experience with new academic pathways, as well as Discovery Education’s reputation as a publisher of high-quality digital curriculums that are easy to integrate into classroom instruction, were among the reasons DUSD chose the Science Techbook for district use through its competitive RFP process.
Currently used by approximately 5.6 million students across all 50 states and Canada, Discovery Education’s award-winning Techbooks are fully interactive, comprehensive digital textbooks. Updated regularly at no cost, the Science Techbook adopted by DUSD is aligned to the Arizona Science Standards, provides educators a complete digital curriculum that includes detailed lesson plans, hands-on activities, digital simulations, and robust teacher supports that immerse students in instruction.
Discovery Education’s Science Techbook series empowers educators to transform science instruction. Utilizing an inquiry-based format built on the Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate (5E) model, each Science Techbook includes rich, standards-aligned content such as video, audio, text, interactives with 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 bilingual text-to-speech and leveled reading tools and note-taking and highlighting capabilities.
The Science Techbooks series also includes valuable STEM resources as well. STEM Project Starters 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.” Embedded formative assessment opportunities that help educators monitor student progress are embedded into each Techbook, and like all Discovery Education digital textbooks, the Science Techbooks work on any device.
“The talented team at Dysart Unified School District is constantly working to create personalized learning experiences for all our students so that each individual graduates with the skills and knowledge they need for whatever path they choose in life,” said Dr. Michelle Benham, District Director of Innovation in Teaching and Learning. “Through this new partnership with Discovery Education, we are building an exciting new science pathway for our students that we believe will prepare them for the world beyond the classroom.”
DUSD educators will also be supported by the Discovery Education Community as they transform students’ learning experiences with dynamic digital media. 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 looks forward to supporting the teachers and administrators at the Dysart Unified School District as they create engaging, immersive science learning environments,” said Discovery Education Educational Partnerships Manager Anna Poulos. “The combination of Discovery Education’s digital curriculum and the gifted teachers across DUSD will create a powerful force that will benefit students across the district.”
For more information about Discovery Education’s digital curriculum and resources, 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:
As the global leader in standards-based digital curriculum and content for K-12 classrooms worldwide, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving more than 5 million educators and 51 million students, Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms and primary schools in the UK, and more than 90 countries around the globe. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.
Stephen Wakefield, Discovery Education
Stephen_Wakefield@discovery.com
Maria José Sanabria, Discovery Education