March 23, 2023 9:00 am

Imagine Science Corner Release Rounds Out Robust Supplemental STEM Offering From Digital-First Education Provider Imagine Learning

New digital supplemental science program, Imagine Science Corner, offers engaging, accessible STEM instruction for students

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., serving 15 million students in more than half the school districts nationwide, today announced the release of Imagine Science Corner, a new digital supplemental science program for STEM students and educators.

Imagine Science Corner engages elementary learners with real-life video lessons, Vocabulary Printables, and student-driven, Project-Based Learning Investigations available in English and Spanish. Educators can create custom learning pathways and are supported by the program’s simple “plug and play” implementation. This engaging, accessible program rounds out the robust Imagine Learning supplemental STEM offering, which also includes Imagine Math, Imagine MyPath Math, Imagine Math Facts, and Imagine Robotify.

“Equitable access to STEM education is important and we are proud to offer an exciting portfolio of engaging, digital STEM programs,” shared Sari Factor, Chief Strategy Officer for Imagine Learning. “STEM skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, are universally applicable in life and many careers. These engaging programs help ensure that all students have the opportunity to thrive in academic settings and fulfill their potential.”

Imagine Learning’s supplemental STEM offerings support the U.S. Department of Education’s YOU Belong in STEM initiative demanding access to equitable, high-quality STEM education for all students regardless of background. Digital-first, interactive programs, like Imagine Learning’s supplemental STEM programs, make STEM learning more accessible to a variety of students and help to engage students at a young age and throughout their learning journey to help students feel successful in STEM studies. To prepare today’s students for 21st century careers with globally competitive skills, Imagine Learning’s supplemental STEM programs support the 4 Cs of STEM—critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

About Imagine Learning
Imagine Learning provides digital-first PreK–12 solutions for core instruction, supplemental and intervention, online courses, and virtual instruction. Our mission is to ignite learning breakthroughs with forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology. Imagine Edgenuity™ is our flagship courseware solution, complemented by Imagine Instructional Services’ virtual teachers. Our core portfolio includes Imagine Learning Twig Science^®, Illustrative Mathematics^®, and EL Education^®. Additionally, a robust supplemental and intervention suite provides personalized instruction for ELA, SLA, math, coding, and more. Learn more: imaginelearning.com.

March 22, 2023 1:59 pm

Why Ed Tech is Not Endorsing a Ban on ChatGPT in Schools

Published by: THE Journal

“This technology is here to stay and will only grow in capabilities. We’ll need to make clear to students when it’s okay to use ChatGPT and other generative AI tools and when it’s not, with a strong emphasis on academic honesty … it does open up some interesting possibilities for teaching and learning.” Deb Rayow, Imagine Learning VP of Product Management, Courseware

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February 24, 2023 12:02 pm

The Future of Speech Pathology is Virtual

Speech teletherapy services are an excellent way for students in the public school system to obtain the federally mandated minutes assigned during the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting, especially when an in-person speech pathologist cannot be hired or located from the area to fill these posted positions.

Poet Hermann Hesse once said, “Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.”

As a speech-language pathologist, I can relate to the sentiment. Speech-language pathology, in particular, has been shaped by recent events in ways we never expected. Thanks to the pandemic, “teletherapy speech services” became part of our collective education vocabulary.

Speech teletherapy: a little background

During the spring of 2020, every speech-language pathologist was thrust, seemingly overnight, into the virtual world of service provision. Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) began a journey in teletherapy they never intended to begin. Some SLPs flourished and determined how to make it the best possible scenario for their students. Other professionals struggled due to lack of resources, support, and understanding, and couldn’t wait to return to in-person therapy. Many companies jumped on the bandwagon offering virtual services with very little research on how to be effective in that endeavor.

For those who embraced the ability to provide services virtually to students in need, however, it was a wakeup call — and an opportunity to provide these services virtually in areas where a qualified SLP could not be found or hired. By embracing this new and exciting service delivery model, SLPs delved into the world of technology and discovered the endless possibilities for students: interactive and eye-catching activities could motivate, enthrall, and inform their students, leaving them excited and engaged.

Imagine Learning responded by hiring licensed and certified speech-language pathologists with both school-based and teletherapy experience who:

Are passionate about helping students in an educational environment succeed
Offer interactive and skill-appropriate student activities focused on IEP goals
Focused speech therapy sessions on required grade-level academic standards that each student must master

Looking forward: the future of speech teletherapy

Speech teletherapy is an excellent way to provide consistent and well-planned therapy to students, ensuring that all students are provided with their federally mandated IEP minutes each week. Parents expect schools to deliver those minutes as scheduled; they also expect schools to offer insight into their child’s progress at regular intervals. Parents are usually unhappy when their child’s school has no one to provide speech and language therapy, and often don’t want to spend the summer trying to fit in compensatory minutes missed throughout the school year.

Transitioning to teletherapy is typically easy for students who have grown up with access to technology in their homes and school environments. And, when speech teletherapy is provided in real-time (one-on-one or in small groups of 2 or 3 students) via a platform that is FERPA- and HIPAA-compliant, it mirrors in-person therapy in its effectiveness and student progress.

One Imagine Learning SLP shared:

“My students love signing in to therapy with me, and are very interactive and engaged with the help of my speech paraprofessional who brings the students to the session.”

Continuing teletherapy collaboration

Speech teletherapy also allows for collaborative interaction with school staff and parents, just as in-person speech therapy does. The Imagine Learning SLP handles all aspects of a student’s case management, from screening to direct therapy minutes. IEPs are held virtually, which allows parents to participate from anywhere, and has increased the probability that the parent will be able to attend the IEP meeting and have an active role in planning for their child’s academic success. Parents often say that meetings held virtually are less stressful, more convenient, and less intimidating than in-person IEP meetings, which is thrilling to hear.

The convenience, effectiveness, and equity of speech teletherapy is unparalleled. Now that students, schools, and parents have gotten a taste of the benefits of virtual therapy, we’re unlikely to return to solely in-person speech-language therapy anytime soon. The future of speech-language therapy is virtual — and bright.

Additional Reading: Speech and Language Telepractice

Explore these additional resources that discuss the efficacy of speech and language telepractice:

Coufal, K., Parham, D., Jakubowitz, M., Howell, C., & Reyes, J. (2018). Comparing traditional service delivery and telepractice for speech sound production using a functional outcome measure. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 27(1), 82-90.

Gabel, R., Grogan-Johnson, S., Alvares, R., Bechstein, L., & Taylor, J. (2013). A field study of telepractice for school intervention using the ASHA NOMS K-12 database. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 35(1), 44-53.

Grogan-Johnson, S. (2021). The five Ws meet the three Rs: the who, what, when, where, and why of telepractice service delivery for school-based speech-language therapy services. Seminars in Speech and Language, 42(02), 162-176.

McCullough, A. (2001). Viability and effectiveness of teletherapy for pre-school children with special needs. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 36(S1), 321-326.

Towey, M. P. (2012a). Speech telepractice: Installing a speech therapy upgrade for the 21^st century. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 4(2), 73-78.

About the Author

Marva Mount, M.A., CCC-SLP, F-NAP

Related Services Director, Imagine Learning

Marva Mount, M. A., CCC-SLP, F-NAP, is the Related Services Director at Imagine Learning. She has almost 40 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist and special education administrator. Her passion has always been providing exceptional services to students with disabilities in the public-school setting. Marva is a published chapter author, journal author, and international speaker. She is a distinguished fellow in the National Academies of Practice, and she received the Texas Speech and Hearing Association (TSHA) Hall of Fame award in 2018 for her contributions to the field of speech-language pathology. She is licensed to practice in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and California, and she holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

February 22, 2023 3:22 pm

Building — and Keeping — Trust with Imagine Learning

Imagine Learning’s customer experience is about much more than just implementing a digital learning program. Discover how our Chief Experience Officer, Leslie Sobon, and her team build partnerships with customers to empower educators and ignite learning breakthroughs.

I enjoy a fantastic position at Imagine Learning — Chief Experience Officer. As an advocate for our customers, one of my missions is to ensure that new features, functions, and implementation processes result in good experiences for our customers. I do that by having a team that deeply understands the many facets of how customers engage and use our products. We know what success looks like and what it doesn’t.

For my team to execute our jobs well, we must build and maintain partnerships with our customers that span their entire journey with us — from presale and onboarding to implementation and product support. We work hard to earn and keep our partners’ trust, putting ourselves in their shoes to celebrate the learning wins and to share the urgency if something goes wrong.

What we hope for in a partner:

The most successful partnerships and those that help us improve our solutions and services are when customers are fully engaged in implementation success. When they commit their precious resources and time, we can bring the full breadth of Imagine Learning…

Our resources and our people
An understanding of good pedagogy
Knowledge of what success looks like in other districts
Experience with what works and doesn’t work in implementation

…and the customer is able and willing to own and advocate for it in their learning community. When both sides trust that the other is dedicated and knowledgeable, it’s much easier to hit the ground running, troubleshoot along the way, and build success. In many ways, the partnership’s health matters more than the product working perfectly every time.

“When both sides trust that the other is dedicated and knowledgeable, it’s much easier to hit the ground running, troubleshoot along the way, and build success.”

Building advocacy

Sometimes a school or district doesn’t designate anyone to advocate for our solution, and that’s when my team needs to make better connections and regain their trust.

To develop a stronger relationship, we often connect internally, asking, “What can we do better?” and “Who do we know that cares about this type of implementation?” Sometimes it’s a connection the salesperson has; other times, it’s a customer success manager or a services person.

Another way we try to bridge the customer-advocate gap is by continuing to touch base with that account regularly, stepping up our engagement until we find the right level for that relationship.

In addition, we’ve developed a program to proactively look at customers who have low usage. We came up with about 65 customers, and we’re working to foster better partnerships by:

Meeting with them face-to-face
Offering free product training
Providing student growth data and other data to show the success of implementations in their state or district
Incentivizing our customer success managers

We’re also exploring possibilities for doing more webinars, carving out more dedicated time for those customers, and even showing up for ‘office hours’ in the cafeteria. By determining what works for this set of customers to drive usage, build trust, and grow relationships, we’ll discover new ways to serve more customers better.

Why customers deserve collaborative partnerships

Because: technology.

Our drive for collaborative partnerships matters because we’re not just shipping a textbook and saying, “good luck.” The nature of our solutions — hello digital learning — dictates that we must ensure the technology works for students, teachers, and admins. That only happens if customers understand how the products and solutions work.

When customers don’t understand the product, they don’t use it, and the implementation is poor or fails. So, it’s Imagine Learning’s responsibility to ensure that knowledge transfer happens — and continues to happen — from our team to the classroom.

We’re in this together

The Imagine Learning/Customer partnership is a relationship; like any relationship, it’s only good if it’s built on trust. Both parties need an understanding, a mutual appreciation for what’s required, and a common goal.

Our partners must be able to trust not only the tech but also the people by their side to respond quickly and be helpful and empathetic. That’s the experience I want my team to bring to educators every day.

Hear more from our partners

About the Author

Leslie Sobon

Chief Experience Officer, Imagine Learning

A veteran of technology marketing, Leslie was drawn to Imagine Learning by the opportunity to make a real difference within the education industry. “Each day, I am overjoyed to see first-hand how Imagine Learning has helped inspire positive change for teachers, students, and families across the nation.”

Before joining the Imagine Learning team, Leslie spent her career building and invigorating brands, launching products, developing innovative marketing models, and helping to drive growth at Texas Instruments and Dell. As Corporate V.P. of Worldwide Marketing at AMD, Leslie led marketing for their mobile, desktop, and server products.

February 13, 2023 12:45 pm

Competition & Student Motivation: Bowl Champions

School-vs-school competition increases student engagement & learning in math & literacy instruction as Georgia & Idaho schools are named national champions of the 2023 MyPath Bowl & Literacy Bowl.

Educators and researchers know that student engagement and motivation is crucial to student learning and many tactics aimed at increasing student motivation have been suggested, tested, and refined. Motivation is a desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal. Studies highlight how teachers play a vital role in motivating students and examine the function intrinsic and extrinsic motivation perform in student learning.

One approach to motivating students is incorporating learning-based gaming or competition. Competition has been proven to have a positive impact on students’ learning and motivation, though educators must be careful to connect competition to the desired learning and not invoke negative actions toward students who do not achieve. Additionally, academic competitions can serve as strong motivators for students by providing a compelling reason to study and work hard. Research shows that participation in academic competition enhances students’ learning motivation, and when students work together in groups or teams to compete, they develop collaboration and cooperation skills which are crucial in learning and work environments.

Academic competition in action: the 2023 National MyPath Bowl & Literacy Bowl

While millions of fans watched pro football playoff games during the fall of 2022 and the first weeks of 2023, students from around the nation completed digital math and literacy lessons to compete in the bracket-style 2023 Imagine MyPath Bowl and Imagine Literacy Bowl contests. This weekend, the top schools from the East Conference and the West Conference of each contest competed in the final battles—and champions emerged. Congratulations to Northcutt Elementary of Clayton County Public Schools, Georgia for winning the 2023 Literacy Bowl and to Juniper Hills–Nampa Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections for being named the 2023 MyPath Bowl champion.

Schools qualified for the playoff rounds throughout the Fall semester by using Imagine MyPath and Imagine Language & Literacy digital education programs. The top usage schools in the East and the West battled in the playoff rounds to represent their Imagine Learning Conference. Week by week, the leaderboard was whittled down by the stiff competition—until only two schools remained in each contest. This past weekend, the champion schools were left standing above the rest.

“We’re proud of the accomplishments of this year’s MyPath Bowl and Literacy Bowl winners and for all the students that competed in this year’s contests,” said Sari Factor, Vice Chair & Chief Strategy Officer at Imagine Learning. “These competitions are a fun way to engage students in math and literacy, and it’s remarkable to see how enthusiastic they get about their learning. Congratulations to everyone involved—students, teachers, and parents. We know it takes a team to inspire learning breakthroughs, and we feel privileged to work alongside you.”

It was a rematch in this year’s Literacy Bowl with Northcutt Elementary from Clayton County Public Schools in Georgia defending their title against returning finals competitor Abraham Lincoln Middle School of Selma Unified School District in California. This was a historic win as Northcutt Elementary is the first school to be a repeat Literacy Bowl champion.

In a contest that came down to the wire, Juniper Hills–Nampa Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections squeaked past Goliad Elementary School of Goliad ISD, Texas to win the second annual MyPath Bowl.

“Congratulations to everyone involved—students, teachers, and parents. We know it takes a team to inspire learning breakthroughs and we feel privileged to work alongside you.”

Sari Factor

Vice Chair & Chief Strategy Officer at Imagine Learning

Competitions lead to engagement, usage, and learning

During these academic contests, increased usage of Imagine Learning’s digital math and literacy programs is observable for competing schools. This evidence shows that the competition engages students and motivates them to complete more lessons than the schools who do not participate in the contests. This is also compelling information as multiple studies show students who use Imagine MyPath, Imagine Language & Literacy, and other Imagine Learning programs outscore their peers in state and national tests.

Winning schools receive a trophy and are honored in a school-wide awards assembly where top class and student efforts are recognized. Each runner-up school receives a certificate and a gift card for school supplies. Additionally, the top 20 MVP schools in each contest receive an e-gift card to celebrate their achievement during the competition.

About the Author

Lisa Wise

Customer Engagement Manager at Imagine Learning

Lisa Wise has worked in the edtech industry for over 24 years, most recently as the Customer Engagement Manager at Imagine Learning. Lisa loves the opportunity to honor student achievement through engagement programs that get students excited about learning. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Lisa lives with her family, dog, and beautiful array of plants in Pittsburgh, PA. She loves sports, gardening, and visiting her local garden center.

February 9, 2023 7:00 am

Imagine Learning Announces Major New Special Education Initiative

Acquires Winsor Learning, Recognized Industry Leader in the Science of Reading

Launches Imagine Ascend™ to Deliver Innovative Solutions for Millions of Students with Disabilities

Scottsdale, AZ – February 9, 2023 – Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the United States serving 15 million students in more than half the districts nationwide, today announced a major new initiative to address the urgent learning needs of more than seven million students with disabilities across the U.S.

As part of the initiative, Imagine Learning has acquired Winsor Learning, a nationally recognized leader in intervention and supplemental literacy products that focus on teaching foundational reading skills grounded in the science of reading. The Winsor Learning leadership team is joining Imagine Learning. Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1997, Winsor offers a portfolio of products and services focused on literacy intervention for dyslexic and at-risk students using the Orton-Gillingham approach, as well as a supplemental whole-class literacy curriculum for grades K-5. Winsor’s innovative Sonday System^® is a comprehensive line of structured literacy materials that enable multi-sensory reading instruction for Pre-K–12 students and is available to approximately 4,000 school districts in all 50 states.

Imagine Learning is also launching Imagine Ascend™, a new comprehensive solution for special education students that combines digital courseware with highly qualified virtual instructors. Imagine Ascend provides districts with a sustainable solution for staffing shortages and a scalable approach to increasing graduation rates, both critical needs of special education programs. The Imagine Ascend portfolio of curricula and services will support learners with accommodating instruction and help educators serve students with disabilities.

“This is a seminal moment for Imagine Learning as we commit significant time and resources to serve the needs of our most vulnerable students,” said Jonathan Grayer, Chairman and CEO of Imagine Learning. “The acquisition of Winsor Learning, coupled with the launch of Imagine Ascend, establishes Imagine Learning at the forefront of innovative curriculum delivery for more than seven million students with disabilities. We’ve seen first-hand the impact of pandemic-driven learning loss and have heard directly from our education partners that they require specialized curriculum to address the needs of students with disabilities who have been disproportionately impacted. We take the responsibility to deliver interventions for these learners seriously and our commitment remains constant: to ignite learning breakthroughs, partner with schools and teachers, support families, and to deliver improved outcomes for every learner.”

Fifteen percent of students in U.S. public schools were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in the 2020–2021 school year, up 13% over the last decade. These students’ disabling conditions impact their ability to learn, including speech and language impairment, specific learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and emotional or behavioral disorders, among others.

“The special education market today is severely fragmented, served by dozens of companies that fail to connect the dots and offer an integrated solution. Imagine Ascend curates the best available curriculum to create a platform of intervention solutions,” said Mr. Grayer.

The need for intervention and supplemental literacy tools for foundational reading skills is rapidly growing as school seek to implement curriculum based on the science of reading. With pandemic-driven learning loss generating skyrocketing needs for effective reading interventions and states implementing new literacy and dyslexia legislation across the country, Winsor is poised for continued growth.

“We are especially excited to welcome the Winsor Learning team to Imagine Learning. Winsor will be a critical engine of growth for us as we build out our Imagine Ascend portfolio. We believe there is significant opportunity to expand Winsor’s product set across our footprint as we create digital supplements to complement their existing offerings,” concluded Mr. Grayer.

Amanda Burnette, CEO of Winsor Learning, said, “Winsor was created more than 25 years ago to offer students with reading challenges the tailored solutions they need to be successful learners. Today’s announcement is the next step in our history and will accelerate our commitment to serve more students all across the country. We are thrilled to join a team who shares our philosophy and has the incredible reputation and respect that Imagine Learning holds in the education space. We look forward to many more years serving the students, teachers, and school districts who need us most.”

Learn more about Imagine Ascend

Learn More

About Imagine Learning

Imagine Learning is a PreK–12 digital learning solutions company that ignites learning breakthroughs by designing forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology to drive student growth. Imagine Learning serves more than 15 million students and partners with more than half the school districts nationwide. Imagine Learning’s flagship products include Imagine Edgenuity^®, online courseware and virtual school services solutions; supplemental and intervention solutions for literacy, language, mathematics, robotics, and coding; and high-quality, digital-first core curriculum, including Illustrative Mathematics^®, EL Education^®, and Odell Education^®—all on the Imagine Learning Classroom—and Twig Science^®. Read more about Imagine Learning’s digital solutions at imaginelearning.com.

About Winsor Learning

Winsor Learning provides Orton-Gillingham based Sonday System^® programs and training. Educational experts at industry-leading organizations, such as the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the International Dyslexia Association, have evaluated the Sonday System and determined that the program contains the required elements for teaching reading identified by the National Reading Panel. Winsor Learning believes in giving children their best chance to succeed in school. We’ve partnered with one of the country’s foremost experts in the Orton-Gillingham multisensory method for reading intervention to create the Sonday System: a simple, cost-effective tool for K-12 educators to identify and quickly intervene with struggling readers. www.winsorlearning.com

Contact

Elliot Sloane
ThroughCo Communications
esloane@throughco.com | 917-291-0833

January 24, 2023 2:05 pm

West Hills Elementary Named Imagine Math State Winner

Published by: WTOK-TV (ABC 11)

And first place goes to West Hills Elementary! The school beat out 90 districts in the state of Mississippi for the Imagine Math Fall Contest for pre-k through second grade.

“It’s very exciting. It’s an honor, to be honest. I know they love [Imagine Math] but I guess now I know how much they really love it,” said West Hills Elementary second grade math teacher, Veronica Adams.

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January 23, 2023 8:00 am

ChatGPT: What Are We Doing About It?

Worried about how AI technology will impact student writing and academic integrity? Deborah Rayow, Imagine Learning’s Vice President of Product Management, Courseware, shares her thoughts about the future plus tips you can implement today.

If your family is anything like mine, you spent several hours over the holidays playing with a new technology called ChatGPT. For those of you not familiar with ChatGPT, it’s an OpenAI program that can write… well, anything. I’ve asked it to write a sonnet comparing Bali and Mars, a narrative essay about a one-eyed dog that goes back in time and meets Leonardo da Vinci, and an answer to the question, “Do you think Star Trek: Discovery should be considered Star Trek canon, and why or why not?”

And yes, I’ve also asked it to write answers to several of the writing prompts in Imagine Edgenuity courses. Which it does exceedingly well.

As ChatGPT is now broadly (and freely) available to anyone, we know that students have already started using it to “help” them with their work in Imagine Edgenuity. We know that educators are concerned. So are we. We’ve already begun the conversations internally about what steps we can and should be taking to help teachers determine when AI was used to generate a written response.

What We Can Do Now

Along with ChatGPT, OpenAI also created a tool that can analyze a piece of writing and predict the likelihood that it was created by artificial intelligence. Teachers can access this tool for free here. In our testing, we’ve found it to be remarkably accurate. We highly recommend using this tool if a student has submitted work that seems out of character — more formally written than usual, slightly robotic, or with details that don’t match what you know about the student. For example, one of our teachers read an essay from a sixth grader that talked about the difficulties he had fitting in on his first day at a large, public high school; something was clearly off, and the AI detector confirmed it.

What We’re Working on for the Future

We will be incorporating this kind of detection within the Academic Integrity toolset available now in Imagine Edgenuity. Just as we can currently report on the percentage of a written response that appears online or has already been submitted by another student, we will provide information to teachers on whether AI was likely involved in crafting the text. We are working to have this feature available before the end of the current school year. 

What Can Teachers Do to Promote Academic Integrity in Schools?

There are several things that teachers can do to ensure academic integrity in schools:

1. Clearly communicate expectations.

Teachers should make sure that students understand what is expected of them in terms of academic integrity. This can include guidelines for proper citation of sources, rules for collaboration on assignments, and consequences for academic dishonesty.

2. Use plagiarism detection tools.

There are a number of software tools available that can help teachers identify instances of plagiarism in students’ work. These tools can be especially helpful for detecting copied content from online sources.

3. Encourage responsible research practices.

Teachers can teach students how to properly research and cite sources and encourage them to ask for help if they are unsure how to do so.

4. Monitor for academic misconduct.

Teachers should be vigilant in looking for signs of academic misconduct, such as copied assignments or cheating on exams. If misconduct is suspected, teachers should follow the school’s policies for addressing it.

5. Promote a culture of academic integrity.

Teachers can set a positive example for students by demonstrating integrity in their own work and by stressing the importance of honesty in academic pursuits.

By taking these steps, teachers can help create a culture of academic integrity in their schools and ensure that all students are held to high standards of honesty and professionalism.

And, in case you didn’t notice: that entire last section was written by ChatGPT.  Told you it was good.

About the author

Deborah Rayow

Imagine Learning’s Vice President of Product Management, Courseware

A former classroom teacher, Deborah has also previously worked with an array of educational publishers and consulting organizations, including Scholastic Education, Kaplan K12 Learning Services, and the New York Times Learning Network. Her expertise includes curriculum planning and professional development, online and hybrid learning, instructional design, and product management/development.

Deborah holds a B.A. in Child Development from Tufts University and a master’s degree in Mathematics Education from Rutgers University. Her areas of academic focus have included early literacy, problem-based learning, and comparative studies in mathematics instruction.

January 18, 2023 9:00 am

Imagine Learning Foundation Increases Grant Opportunity for 2023 Funding Cycle

Affirms Commitment to Grant $5 Million to Organizations Promoting Learner Well-Being Beyond the Classroom

Scottsdale, Ariz. January 18, 2023 – Imagine Learning Foundation (ILF), the philanthropic initiative founded by Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the United States, announced today it will award $400,000 in grants in 2023 to organizations dedicated to supporting the well-being of students outside the classroom. This represents an increase of 60% over 2022 levels. ILF remains committed to granting $5 million to deserving organizations in the upcoming years.

ILF was launched in 2022 with the mission of fostering the well-being of learners and the people who support them at home and in their communities. Up2Us Sports (www.up2us.org) and Erika’s Lighthouse (www.erikaslighthouse.org), two leading organizations that support students learning life skills through active community engagement, received inaugural Imagine Learning Foundation Signature Grants.

“Delivery of social and emotional support inside and outside of the classroom continues to be one of the greatest needs of students and families today,” said Jonathan Grayer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Imagine Learning. “In 2023, we are excited to significantly increase our commitment to identify and fund those organizations that are making a real difference in the communities they serve. We are very proud of the work of our two initial Imagine Signature Grant award recipients – Up2Us Sports and Erika’s Lighthouse – and look forward to funding the next wave of deserving partners.”

In addition to the Imagine Learning Foundation Signature Grant Program, ILF is also announcing enhancements to its Grassroots Grant Program, which awards a series of smaller grants to organizations nominated by Imagine Learning employees that focus on out-of-classroom programs dedicated to learner well-being, such as student-driven kindness and anti-bullying messaging and after school programs shown to increase self-confidence, attendance rates, emotional well-being, and academic performance. In 2022, ILF awarded four $10,000 Grassroots grants to New Pathways for Youth, Mindful Michigan Initiative, I’ve Got Your Back, and Inspira Dance. In 2023, the Grassroots Grant Program will award recipients on a rolling basis and will also begin to accept nominations from Imagine Learning’s employees in the United Kingdom and Europe, extending ILF’s impact internationally.

“The relationships we’ve built with our grant winners this past year and seeing the positive impact they’re making to learners in their communities has been an incredibly rewarding start to the Imagine Learning Foundation,” said Chris Graham, Chairman and President of the Imagine Learning Foundation. “As we enter our second year of giving, we’re excited about deepening our relationships with our current partners and we look forward to establishing new ones with the innovative and mission-aligned non-profit organizations who apply.”

The 2023 Imagine Signature Grant Program is now open for applications through April 30 and award winners will be announced in July 2023. The 2023 funding cycle is below:

Applications Deadline – April 30, 2023 (5:00pm PDT)
Award Notifications – June/July 2023
Grant Awards – on/after July 1, 2023

To learn more about the Imagine Learning Foundation and access the 2023 Imagine Signature Grant Program guidelines, visit imaginelearningfoundation.org.

About Imagine Learning Foundation

Imagine Learning Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on fostering the well-being of learners and the people who support them at home and in their communities. Established in 2021, the Imagine Learning Foundation funds a variety of grants to mission-aligned national non-profit organizations that support initiatives to foster well-being of youth, families, and educators with an emphasis on accelerating student achievement. Imagine Learning Foundation is the philanthropic initiative of Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S. Additional information is available at imaginelearningfoundation.org.

December 5, 2022 8:00 am

Imagine Learning EL Education Approved by Connecticut State Board of Education

Top-Rated Core Language Arts Program Delivers Unique Integrated Learning Experiences for Connecticut Schools

Scottsdale, Ariz., DECEMBER 5, 2022 – Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., serving 15 million students in more than half the school districts nationwide, today announced that Imagine Learning EL Education’s core language arts and reading program has been approved by the Connecticut State Board of Education for grades K-3. Rooted in the Science of Reading, Imagine Learning EL Education ensures that students acquire the critical skills needed to navigate grade-level text independently.

“With EL Education and the Imagine Learning Classroom technology application, we’ve developed an integrated solution that empowers educators to spend more time teaching and less time planning,” said Terry Gilligan, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Core Curriculum for Imagine Learning. “We look forward to helping students across Connecticut achieve their reading goals through our resources and instructional supports.”

The Connecticut State Department of Education’s (CDSE) Center for Literacy Research and Reading Success, in consultation with the Reading Leadership Implementation Council, chose Imagine Learning EL Education as one of only five Connecticut-approved K-3 reading curricula. Imagine Learning EL Education met the State’s high standards of quality necessary to contribute to the overall goal of improving reading outcomes and closing learning gaps. CDSE’s requirements for high-quality curricula also include alignment to the Connecticut Core Standards for English language arts.

Imagine Learning EL Education is a comprehensive content-based K-8 core literacy curriculum utilizing compelling real-world texts that engage and excite learners in grades K-8. Rooted in the Science of Reading, the program allows students to focus on mastery of knowledge and skills and demonstrate high-quality work while building habits of character. Imagine Learning EL Education received near-perfect ratings by EdReports, an independent nonprofit designed to improve education through evidence-based reviews of K-12 instructional materials.

Available in both digital and print platforms, Imagine Learning EL Education helps teachers by fully supporting the implementation of the curriculum with integrity, including professional development sessions that guide teachers as they learn how to use it, taking the unique needs of their students into account. Educators are also supported throughout the year by a dedicated customer success manager, working to plan, monitor, and support curriculum implementation. To learn more about Imagine Learning EL Education and the Imagine Learning Classroom, visit imaginelearning.com/core-curriculum.

About Imagine Learning

Imagine Learning is a PreK–12 digital learning solutions company that ignites learning breakthroughs by designing forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology to drive student growth. Imagine Learning serves more than 15 million students and partners with more than half the school districts nationwide. Imagine Learning’s flagship products include Imagine Edgenuity^®, online courseware and virtual school services solutions; supplemental and intervention solutions for literacy, language, mathematics, and computer science; and high-quality, digital-first core curricula, including Illustrative Mathematics^® and EL Education^®—both on the Imagine Learning Classroom software application—and Twig Science^®. Read more about Imagine Learning’s digital solutions at imaginelearning.com.