April 17, 2023 9:00 am

Imagine Learning Expands Senior Leadership Team

Leslie Sobon Promoted to Chief Experience Officer; Carin Casso Reinhardt Hired as Chief People Officer Renews Commitment to Deliver Measurable Impact That Better Empowers Educators To Improve Student Achievement

Scottsdale, Ariz., April 17, 2023 – Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital-first curriculum solutions in the United States, today announced several new leadership appointments in key areas across the organization, renewing its commitment to deliver measurable impact that ignites learning breakthroughs and improves student achievement.

Leslie Sobon, formerly Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, was promoted to Chief Experience Officer, a newly created position. With deep experience in technology and marketing, Sobon joined Imagine Learning in 2014 and has played a critical role in the rapid growth and success of the organization by serving in a wide range of customer-facing roles with increasing responsibility. Her leadership has directly impacted and inspired positive learning outcomes for the teachers, students, and families across the districts we serve.

Carin Casso Reinhardt joins Imagine Learning as Chief People Officer, another newly created position. With more than 20 years of human resources experience, Reinhardt joins Imagine Learning from NewAge, Inc, a nationwide distributor of health beverages and skin care products, where she served as Chief People Officer. In her role at Imagine Learning, she will oversee all human resources and talent initiatives and guide the business through its next period of growth and evolution.

Imagine Learning made two additional senior leadership announcements that will propel the Company forward. Dr. Kimberlin Rivers was promoted to Vice President of Instructional Services and Tom DeWitt joined the Company as Senior Vice President of Sales for the Western U.S. Rivers joined Imagine Learning in 2013 and during her tenure has supported a culture of integrity and service that has fueled the growth of this important unit of the company. DeWitt brings more than 25 years of experience in K-12 education sales, including a senior role at McGraw-Hill Education, and will partner with Marcia Willson, Senior Vice President of Sales for the Eastern U.S. to lead Imagine Learning’s nationwide sales team.

Imagine Learning is an industry leader by any measure. Building on its legacy, leadership, and innovation in developing courseware and curriculum for a wide array of supplemental and intervention products and supporting schools with robust instructional services, Imagine Learning is now offering a full suite of digital-first core curriculum products and services designed to meet the needs of K-12 teachers and students across the country. Serving 15 million students and over one million educators in more than half the school districts nationwide, Imagine Learning is comprised of 2,600 employees dedicated to a single purpose: igniting learning breakthroughs.

“Imagine Learning is defined by the strength of our people, the vision and talent of our leaders and our unwavering commitment to deliver impact for students and educators,” said Jonathan Grayer, Chairman and CEO of Imagine Learning. “We are excited that Leslie, Carin, Kimberlin and Tom will all take on new and important roles in our organization. The decades of experience and passion they bring to their new positions will be integral to driving our next stage of growth and we are thrilled to have them leading talented teams.”

“This is an exciting time for our company and the K-12 education industry. Digital curriculum solutions are now a foundational part of education and Imagine Learning remains committed to investing in access to personalized learning tools designed to deliver sustained achievement for students across the country,” Grayer stated.

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 English Language Arts, Spanish Language Arts, math, coding, and more. Learn more: imaginelearning.com

April 12, 2023 9:32 am

Illinois Students Show Significant Growth on IAR with Imagine Learning Illustrative Mathematics

Community Consolidated School District 59 (CCSD59) students using Imagine Learning Illustrative Mathematics showed significant improvement in IAR proficiency rates.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., APRIL 12, 2023—Community Consolidated School District 59 (CCSD59), a Chicago area school district, began using Imagine Learning Illustrative Mathematics (IM) in the fall of 2021 and showed significant gains on Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) proficiency rates and teacher-observed engagement in math instruction by the end of the 2021–2022 school year.

The IAR is administered to Illinois students in grades 3–8 and CCSD59 students experienced a larger increase in IAR math proficiency rates between 2021–2022 than the state overall. Specifically, a greater percentage of CCSD59 students experienced positive proficiency rate changes in Grades 3-6, and Grade 8 compared to the state average. Additionally, low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, and students with Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) experienced larger increases in IAR math proficiency rates between 2021 and 2022 in CCSD59 than in the state overall.

“We wanted a strong focus on grade-level standards and a problem-based curriculum. We also wanted to make sure there was equitable access for all students,” said Dr. Nicole Robinson, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for CCSD59. “We found that with Illustrative Math from Imagine Learning.”

“Our three-year goal is that 80% or more of our students are able to adequately be supported by our core instruction,” shared Michelle Benages, K–12 Math Coordinator for CCSD59. “We started off the 2021–2022 school year, prior to implementing IM, at 60%. We’ve already grown 5% after our first year of implementation.”

A recent study showed student perceptions of math instruction in CCSD59 grew substantially more positive after the introduction of IM compared to student perceptions of math instruction in the state as a whole. Students perception of math instruction was “Strong” or “Very Strong” in all elementary and middle schools in CCSD59 after the first year of using Imagine Learning Illustrative Mathematics.

“I am seeing so much growth in teachers and students working together,” stated Jackie Townsend, Instructional Coach at CCSD59. “The students own their learning and are proud to share what they have taken away with their classmates, their peers, and their teacher.”

CCSD59 is comprised of 15 schools and over 5,000 students. Over 50% of the students are classified as low income and 46% are English learners. Learn more about the CCSD59 Imagine Learning Illustrative Mathematics implementation story here.

About Imagine Learning:

Imagine Learning provides digital-first PreK–12 learning solutions for core instruction, supplemental and intervention, courseware, and virtual school services. Our mission is to ignite learning breakthroughs with forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology. We serve 15 million students—partnering with more than half of districts nationwide.

April 5, 2023 1:00 pm

What to Know About PSD’s Newly Approved Literacy Curricula for Elementary Schools

Published by: Coloradoan

Poudre School District is adopting Imagine Learning’s EL Education K-5 literacy program for most of its elementary schools beginning next fall.

“This moment is significant in a lot of different ways,” Superintendent Brian Kingsley said, “because we’re … significantly raising the floor of excellence for literacy instruction across all of our elementary schools.”

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March 28, 2023 3:43 pm

Getting Personal: Transforming the Educator-Curriculum Provider Relationship

What makes a relationship between districts and curriculum providers deepen into a true partnership with improved student outcomes? And what makes that partnership successful? Discover what three Imagine Learning customers and their Customer Success Managers say.

In education, the best relationships between districts and curriculum providers deepen into true partnerships — where there’s collaboration, give-and-take, and improved student outcomes.

But what makes that partnership truly successful? We talked with three districts and their Imagine Learning Customer Success Managers to see what makes their partnerships tick. Though every educator is from a different geographic location and plays a different role within the education world, the similarities between their partnerships were impossible to ignore.

What we discovered: both professional and personal trust is key to building partnerships that work.

After you’ve decided to use Imagine Learning, what happens next? (Besides amazing student learning breakthroughs!) A dedicated Customer Success Manager walks you through each phase of implementation: rostering, getting started, finding the right professional development for your team, and even analyzing your data and results.

Customer Success Manager Kristy and the Baltimore City School District (BCSD)

Communicative Partnerships

“Regular communication is the key to partner success,” said Kristy. “You already have a professional connection from working together. Meeting in person to make a personal connection, and talk about kids and grandkids, is so important.”

Kristy M.

Customer Success Manager, Imagine Learning

Michael from BCSD agreed: “I think you have to like people to want to work with them. The Imagine Learning team we work with shows us that they’re humans. It’s not robotic.”

Trusting Partnerships

“Partnership is exemplified in the relationship with Imagine Learning,” said Kerry from BCSD. “When we reach out, they’re responsive; communication is so key in this partnership. It shouldn’t feel like the partner is dominating and selling, but rather listening to us and coming up with solutions together.”

“The give-and-take is what makes this partnership unique,” said Kristy. “They’re a very data-driven district. The school has a long game, and this partner trusts the data. This is a factor that differentiates this partner from others: they trust you and they trust the numbers. They count on me to be correct.”

For an education partnership to work, customers can’t just trust the people with whom they work — they must also trust the product. Kerry from BCSD said, “We also see how much time and thought goes into creating the product. We can tell it’s not been thrown together quickly. We’ve never been able to see that with another group that we’ve worked with.”

Aligned Partnerships

“We looked for alignment in a partnership,” said Kerry from BCSD. “We needed a partnership aligned to our district initiatives, as well as easy-to-access and with implementation support. Working with a partner, we’ve been able to build and grow.”

One BCSD customer was shocked to hear that Kristy had other districts for customers because she’s so responsive and focused on their needs. She laughed, “It’s really flattering that they thought I worked only for them! But I have 70 other customers, too.” Michael from BCSD added, “Every day I’m emailing Kristy, saying, ‘Help!’”

Kristy vows, “I will get to know you, your goals, and your implementation. There are lots of options out there. I want them to feel like they have this valuable tool because someone is part of their team.”

When asked to describe the partnership with Imagine Learning in one word, Kerry from BCSD joked, “One word? We’re math people,” but quickly added, “Supportive.”

Colleague Michael added, “Considered.”

“We also see how much time and thought goes into creating the product. We can tell it’s not been thrown together quickly. We’ve never been able to see that with another group that we’ve worked with.”

Kerry S.
Director of Mathematics, Baltimore City School District

Mark C.

Customer Success Manager, Imagine Learning

Customer Success Manager Mark and Joanne, the Hope Center for Autism

Relational Partnerships

“Trust is important when you’re dealing with something as important as a child’s education,” said Mark. “And trust requires honesty and difficult conversations.”

Especially in an education partnership, trust is essential. Mark said, “Partnership is not transactional, but relational; we work toward shared goals for the students’ best interests. If a customer doesn’t make that leap and jump the transactional fence, then we’ll run into some obstacles.”

Mark adds, “I have some clients that don’t trust as easily, and because they don’t trust as much, they’re not getting the best service.”

Joanne said, “Usually I am that person who’s like, ‘Yeah, we got it. Let me be. I got it.’ But, Mark, you’ve been so helpful, and we’ve needed that. I don’t do this with anybody else.”

Personal Partnerships

“Hope Center has a lot of heart,” said Mark. “The people who work there have a lot of heart and they really are invested in their students’ wellbeing. And I could tell that right away, because everything mattered to them and was important.”

The work is personal to Joanne, but also to Mark, a former classroom educator. “I’ve always recognized, as a brick-and-mortar teacher, that students can get left behind, so the work that Joanne’s doing is phenomenal, and it really drives me.” He added, “As a customer success manager, I get to wake up and continue doing that great work with Imagine Learning because I’m able to see the impact.”

Mark said, “It’s not just a course, it’s about truly transforming somebody’s life. That just touches me.”

Collaborative Partnerships

For Mark, realizing that the Hope Center helps students who have never succeeded in a traditional brick-and-mortar setting was pivotal. He said, “We’ve had to step out of the box and had to really redesign what the box looks like for those students.”

Joanne said, “In all honesty, if we didn’t have that flexibility, I don’t think we would have been successful. We’ve needed a lot of support to get through to where we are at this point now. We are a small school, and we have more than 50 people on staff for 86 kids… We need a lot of adjustment, a lot of understanding, and what we adjust… may be a little bit different next year.”

Collaborating with the larger Imagine Learning team to pool knowledge and experience truly gives partners like the Hope Center the best solutions for their needs. Mark says, “The benefit to the partner is that they can get exactly what they want and need — even if it’s offbeat from other, typical customer needs.”

How would Joanne describe the partnership with Imagine Learning? Without missing a beat: “Collaborative.”

“Trust is important when you’re dealing with something as important as a child’s education, and trust requires honesty and difficult conversation”

Mark C.
Customer Success Manager, Imagine Learning

Customer Success Manager Tiffany and Dr. Randy, Director of Education Management and Networks in Michigan

Trusting Partnerships

“Partnership equals team,” said Tiffany. Her background as an athletic coach shines through in her approach to her customers’ needs: “We’re on the same team and we want to win. What does your win look like?”

Tiffany G.

Customer Success Manager, Imagine Learning

Tiffany added, “I need to be able to actually meet my district administrators. I need to know that they’re really telling me what they think and feel and need.”

Dr. Randy said, “Trust is important because we’re not just buying software. I believe that we’re also buying expertise. I’m asking the partner to boost and support us.”

Tiffany said, “Dr. Randy trusts us. He believes in the partnership.”

Responsive Partnerships

Dr. Randy said, “Partnership is removing the silos and bringing everything together. I know that when we need them, they’re there. I need people who are responsive to our needs, not just invoicing me every six months. The vendor/vendee relationship doesn’t always lend itself to a partnership, but we’ve felt heard.”

Even when things don’t always go smoothly, he added, “True partners can demonstrate that problems will get fixed and solved.”

Tiffany leverages her relationships within Imagine Learning to get her customers the best answers possible when they want to dive deeper into certain products, even if it’s not her area of expertise.

For her customers, she said, “What is it that [customers] need to see so that they feel like they’ve had their return on their investment? That’s really what it comes down to. It’s finding out what it is that our customers really want.”

Personal Partnerships

“When I wake up in the morning, and I’m turning my computer on, and I’m feeling stoked — that has everything to do with people that I work with internally. But also, I have some really rad customers,” said Tiffany. “I’ve got some really, really wonderful districts — people who are wonderful humans who I get to work with.

About Dr. Randy, Tiffany added, “This is a man who will do anything for his staff, to make sure they’re supported. I would work for him in a heartbeat.”

Dr. Randy said, “In a word, I’d describe the relationship with Imagine Learning as ‘fulfilling.’” From a district’s perspective, he added, “We could get the software anywhere. I need the people.”

“We’re on the same team and we want to win. What does your win look like?”

Tiffany G.
Customer Success Manager, Imagine Learning

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

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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