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.

Schools and Districts in Eight States Make Big Investments in Lexia Aspire Professional Learning

BOSTON – Months after the launch of Lexia Aspire™ Professional Learning, schools and districts in California, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin have invested in  licenses to make the self-paced digital solution available to teachers. Offered by Lexia, a  Cambium Learning Group company, Lexia Aspire Professional Learning is a new flexible, professional learning solution that is grounded in the science of reading and helps educators accelerate literacy skills in all learning among students in grades 4-8. Equipping educators with the knowledge and skills they need to apply science-based strategies in a classroom that supports varying levels of literacy competencies is central to the design of Lexia Aspire Professional Learning.

Eight new schools and districts have invested in their professional learning opportunities for teachers including:

●      Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma…Read More

Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) Names Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready® Assessment a Qualified Dyslexia Screening Tool for Grades K–3

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass.—The GaDOE recently named Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Assessment as a Qualified Dyslexia Screening Tool for Grades K–3. School districts across the state can now use the program’s online Diagnostic and offline literacy assessment tasks to support with the identification and referral of students who exhibit characteristics of dyslexia. Today, the i-Ready program serves more than 11.5 million students and approximately one-third of all Grades K–8 students in the United States, including approximately 485,000 students in Georgia.

“It is so important that teachers have effective tools to identify students who may be at risk for dyslexia,” said Elizabeth Bassford, vice president of content and implementation at Curriculum Associates. “Now teachers across Georgia can use i-Ready’s single assessment along with its offline literacy assessment tasks to complete the screening and identification process, and develop individualized, data-driven instruction to support each student who will benefit from that specificity.”

All programs named to GaDOE’s Qualified Dyslexia Screening Tool list undergo a comprehensive review and demonstrate that they address—and measure—specific components. These components include phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, sound symbol recognition, alphabet knowledge, decoding skills, encoding skills, rapid naming, accuracy of word reading on grade-level text, and sight word reading efficiency skills.…Read More

One8 Foundation Announces $5.7m In Statewide Grants For Districts To Implement Ignite! Reading’s Virtual, One-On-One Literacy Tutoring Program

BOSTON – The One8 Foundation today announced it is providing over $5.7 million in grants to 13 Massachusetts school districts to implement Ignite! Reading’s one-on-one, virtual-powered literacy tutoring for 3,000 first grade students this fall.

The One8 Foundation is expanding schools’ ability to access programs like Ignite! Reading by providing grants to schools that offset the costs of adopting new programs. The 13 districts were selected after fulfilling several criteria, including the use of high-quality literacy materials, alignment to Science of Reading principles, and strong practices related to progress monitoring of students.

Ignite! Reading provides school districts with one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches every student the foundational skills they need to become confident, independent readers. Ignite! Reading pairs developing readers with expert tutors who deliver daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction to target specific decoding gaps. During the last school year, students in the Ignite! Reading program recorded an average of 2.4 weeks of reading progress for every week in the program with no achievement gap for students of color, students with IEPs, multilingual learners or students receiving free or reduced-price lunches.

“We strongly believe in the Science of Reading’s power to unlock learning opportunities and that first grade is the critical point for students to garner the necessary phonics skills they need to unlock independent reading to succeed in school and beyond. That’s why we’re excited to connect school districts serving thousands of students with Ignite! Reading, an innovative and effective model that is transforming literacy outcomes in Massachusetts and across the country. This work has the power to transform the academic trajectory of students who participate, rapidly accelerating their progress to becoming independent readers,” said Joanna Jacobson, a trustee and President of the One8 Foundation.

“We are grateful to the One8 Foundation for investing in evidence-based literacy programs that will supercharge learning outcomes for thousands of students throughout Massachusetts. And we’re thrilled to partner with school districts across the Commonwealth that are eager to deliver results,” said Jessica Reid Sliwerski, Co-Founder & CEO of Ignite! Reading. “With students learning to read at twice the rate that would be expected in a traditional classroom, our one-on-one, high-dosage tutoring model is not just transforming how kids are taught to read, but also how literacy instruction is being operationalized in schools. One8’s support will help accelerate this progress and ensure the students who need this intervention are reading by the end of first grade.”

Ignite! Reading first started working in Massachusetts early in 2022 through a pilot program with Worcester Public Schools. Since that time, Worcester Public Schools has expanded its work with Ignite to reach over 350 students during the 2022-23 school year. Students in Worcester receiving Ignite! tutoring have, on average, progressed at over twice the typical rate of progress for students not receiving tutoring. “This type of highly differentiated support has been totally game-changing for our students who struggle most with reading, allowing them to build their skills and confidence,” said Sam FanFan, Principal at Burncoat Prep Elementary School, one of the Worcester schools that is participating in the program this year.

The following districts were awarded grants:

  • Boston Renaissance Charter Public School
  • Chelsea Public Schools
  • Clinton Public Schools
  • Fall River Public Schools
  • Hoosac Valley Regional School District
  • Leicester Public Schools
  • Milford Public Schools
  • Pittsfield Public Schools
  • Quaboag Regional School District
  • Randolph Public Schools
  • Revere Public Schools
  • Waltham Public Schools
  • Westfield Public Schools


In addition to Massachusetts, Ignite! Reading is currently partnering with schools and districts in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, and Oregon, with further plans to expand nationwide.

About One8 Foundation
The One8 education team identifies, supports, and scales high-impact applied learning programs that engage students actively in their learning and prepare them for success in a rapidly changing, data-rich world. One8 is committed to building a future where high-quality applied learning opportunities, oriented around STEM and 21st century skills, that make learning relevant, stimulating, and rewarding, are a regular part of the student experience, driving impact for all students. Learn more at: www.one8.org


About Ignite! Reading
Ignite! Reading’s mission is to ensure that every student is an independent reader by the end of first grade. The organization was co-founded by CEO Jessica Reid Sliwerski and Evan Marwell, Executive Chairman of Ignite! Reading and CEO of EducationSuperHighway. Ignite! Reading pairs schools with a dedicated literacy specialist and a team of virtual reading tutors, all highly trained in the Science of Reading, who deliver 1:1 daily instruction to students focused on their specific decoding gaps. Ignite! Reading’s data-driven approach, provided by caring and skilled tutors, gives kids the know-how and confidence they need to thrive as fluent readers. The Ignite! Reading program, delivered 15 minutes per day during the school day, takes the burden of differentiated instruction off of teachers and has an impact immediately. For more information about Ignite! Reading, visit: www.ignite-reading.com…Read More

4 tips for addressing absenteeism in K-12 schools

Key points:

  • Absenteeism is a top predictor of academic success and can have serious consequences
  • Solutions to chronic absenteeism will require long-term, strategic investment of time and resources

Districts across the country are grappling with elevated levels of chronic absenteeism that have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. The Associated Press and Stanford University’s Big Local News Project found that there were approximately 230,000 students in 21 states whose absences could not be accounted for when looking at changes in enrollment between the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 school years.

We also know a lot about the negative consequences of poor attendance: attendance is the number one predictor of academic achievement. Chronic absenteeism can have serious impacts on students, such as the inability to master basic grade-level skills, reduced access to food and counseling resources, and significantly higher rates of dropping out. Students who drop out of school have a far greater chance of entering the criminal justice system.…Read More

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Safeguarding K-12 school networks with proactive cybersecurity approaches

Key points:

  • School districts need bigger cybersecurity budgets and support mechanisms
  • Cybersecurity threats are not going away, and knowledge is a large factor in protecting networks
  • See related article: 4 steps to avoid a ransomware attack

Now more than ever, safeguarding students and staff from targeted cyberattacks is critical to the health of our U.S. education system. Local K-12 schools are a top target for cybercrime. Estimates from the nonprofit organization K12 Security Information Exchange reveal more than 1,300 publicly disclosed cyberattacks against U.S. schools since 2016.

The size and scope of these threats amplified during COVID-era hybrid learning, when schools were forced to rapidly adopt cloud-based collaboration technologies at scale. But even though students have returned to the classroom post-pandemic, just like every other industry, the K-12 threat landscape isn’t slowing down. …Read More

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3 new trends in student assessment

Key points:

The National Council on Measurement in Education’s (NCME) annual meeting has always offered an opportunity to learn about innovative research and new trends in student assessment. It is a chance to get hints of where the field is moving and what will be available to school districts, teachers, and students.

This year did not disappoint. There were three notable topics at the conference that signal new directions in assessment: through-year assessment, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and individualized assessment.…Read More

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As ESSER spending increases, digital learning is a priority

After a slow start in allocating federal ESSER funds, most states have found ways to spend their COVID relief dollars. In Montana, the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is directing its ESSER money to digital learning resources.

OPI Superintendent Elsie Arntzen announced a new partnership with Discovery Education, a provider of state-of-the-art digital resources that support instruction wherever it takes place. Through this multi-year partnership, OPI is providing all 496 public school districts statewide access to a curated collection of high-quality, grade level appropriate, digital content aligned to Montana’s rigorous K-12 Content Standards.

The partnership–which is funded through ESSER–supports core instruction across Montana. In addition, the collaboration supports the state’s workforce readiness, rural education, Native American tribal history and culture, and parent and family engagement initiatives. Montana School Superintendents can activate their school district’s Discovery Education account by visiting this website.…Read More

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How to make secure K-12 digital transformation a reality

Key points:

  • More students and educators are connecting personal devices to school networks
  • This makes network security–an already underfunded area–even more critical

The pandemic was a massive shift for school districts across the country, and even as we move out of it, we’re still feeling the impact. On the technical side, it prompted quick transformation to enable virtual schooling–and these changes were made as districts were already challenged by legacy technology, reduced budgets and understaffing. Existing problems were exacerbated.

In parallel, we’ve seen a rise in ransomware and other cyberattacks in the education sector. What’s needed is a digital transformation strategy that also prioritizes security.…Read More

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