Whom You Know: Florida’s Santa Rosa County District Schools to Continue Expanding STEAM Initiative Through Broadened Partnership with Discovery Education

Friday, October 20, 2017

Florida’s Santa Rosa County District Schools to Continue Expanding STEAM Initiative Through Broadened Partnership with Discovery Education

Florida’s Santa Rosa County District Schools (SRCDS) today announced a broadening of their ongoing partnership with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms. In the newest stage of a collaboration spanning more than a decade, Discovery Education will support the expansion of SRCDS’s world-class STEAM education program, STEAM Innovate!, in all high schools across the district with a unique blend of sustained professional development and high-quality digital content.

SRCDS is committed to ensuring every student has equitable access to instructional excellence. To achieve this mission, in 2015 SRCDS launched STEAM Innovate!, which is transforming all district classrooms into rich STEAM-infused learning environments that increase student achievement and nurtures students’ critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creative skills. While the first and second years of STEAM Innovate! focused on bringing sustained professional development and engaging digital content to K-5 and middle school classrooms, the third year of this effort will focus on providing high school educators the resources they need to create immersive STEAM classrooms.

Specifically, the latest phase of STEAM Innovate! will add 35 high school educators to the initiative’s professional development effort. A comprehensive professional development system supported by Discovery Education’s STEM Leader Corps model, STEAM Innovate! supports the growth of teacher-leaders as they become change agents powering the district’s transition to a STEAM-focused education culture.

SRCDS is among the first school systems in the nation to implement a STEAM-focused capacity building model as part of its dedicated effort to provide each student an engaging STEAM learning environment. Since the inception of the STEM Innovate! initative, SRCDS has been an international leader in STEAM education. In January of 2017, SRDCS hosted the first-ever National STEM Symposium, which brought together STEM/STEAM thought-leaders from around the world for a unique professional development event that showcased SRCDS’s innovative STEAM education effort.

In addition, the third year of STEAM Innovate! will see all high school math and science teachers integrate Discovery Education’s Science Techbook™ and Math Techbooks™, into teaching and learning.

Discovery Education’s Techbooks are breakthrough digital textbooks that are aligned to rigorous standards, support a comprehensive curriculum, and are updated regularly at no cost. The series encourages all learners through interactive features that change the reading level of text and enable text to be read aloud. The Techbook series saves teachers’ time with a comprehensive design that places model lessons, student activities and assessments at their fingertips.

Utilizing an inquiry-based format built on the 5E model, Discovery Education’s Science Techbook, through hands-on labs, digital explorations, an interactive glossary, and data analysis activities, helps teach students to read, write, and think like scientists. In addition, the Science Techbook also features a variety of STEM resources that help educators create engaging STEM learning experiences in their classrooms. Discovery Education’s Math Techbook is a digital textbook that connects students to math through real-world problems worth solving, combines conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application to help all students develop a long-lasting mastery of mathematics.

“Santa Rosa County District Schools’ STEAM Innovate! initiative is a critical component of the school system’s effort to ensure all students have an academic experience that prepares them for life beyond school,” said Santa Rosa County District Schools Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick. “The expansion of our partnership with Discovery Education will help us meet this important goal, and we look forward to continuing our work with the talented Discovery Education team.”

The Discovery Education Community will continue supporting SRCDS educators’ efforts to transform students’ learning experiences with dynamic digital media. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration.

“Our tremendous partners at the Santa Rosa County District Schools are at the leading edge of the nationwide movement to STEAM education, and we are proud to support their work,” said Jason Sinquefield Director of Education Partnerships at Discovery Education. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with teachers and administrators across the school system on this creative initiative and on our joint mission to help every student develop the skills they need to succeed in college, career, and citizenship.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s Techbook Series, Professional Development initiatives, and other services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

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