Nebraska district launches new partnership

Bellevue Public Schools signed a new collaboration with Discovery Education to bring STEM digital content to the district’s 15 elementary schools. The partnership covers STEM Connect, Discovery Education Streaming Plus, STEM Leader Corps and Discovery Education Community.

Nebraska’s Bellevue Public Schools(BPS) announced a new partnership with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, focused on creating STEM learning opportunities across all 15 of the district’s elementary schools. Through this new collaboration, BPS’s educators will receive award-winning digital content and sustained professional development from Discovery Education that will help them create dynamic digital learning environments that engage students in STEM and prepare them to succeed in the world of tomorrow.

Situated next to Offutt Air Force Base, BPS’s mission is to provide its approximately 10,000 students, 25% of whom are connected to the military in some way, the skills needed for personal success and responsible citizenship in a global society. Among the ways BPS is preparing all students for success beyond graduation is by creating immersive STEM and project-based learning environments that help students build the critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creative skills that will be in high demand by future employers. To drive Students & Teachers Energizing Minds, the district’s initiative creating these exciting new learning environments, BPS sought Discovery Education’s outstanding digital content and professional learning services.

One of the resources BPS will use to create digital STEM learning opportunities, improve math and science achievement, and build teachers’ capacity to accelerate the district’s efforts to prepare all students for success beyond the classroom is Discovery Education Streaming Plus. Streaming Plus is a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas that helps build students’ mastery in interpreting, understanding, and evaluating information. Teacher resources include lesson plans, instructional strategies, and content collections organized around themes. Students can access images, primary source documents, podcasts, oral interviews, books on tape, articles, and videos, as well as a collection of new STEM/STEAM resources designed to fuel a cultural shift in teaching and learning.

Discovery Education’s STEM Connect will also serve as a key component of the district’s new effort to build an engaging STEM curriculum. A cutting-edge, web-based, interdisciplinary K-8 supplemental resource built on a 4Cs STEM skills framework, STEM Connect helps students develop the creative, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills they need for success beyond graduation. Featuring flexible, modular learning units, STEM Connect provides students an easy-to-follow educational experience that includes real-world challenges, career connections, and hands-on activities.

To help BPS’s educators integrate their new digital resources into instruction and build a culture of STEM teaching and learning across the school system, district educators will also participate in a sustained, scalable, three-year professional learning initiative from Discovery Education called STEM Leader Corps. BPS educators participating in STEM Leader Corps will learn new strategies and best practices for building and sustaining a culture of STEM in their schools and will be supported as they master new STEM instructional approaches. With a focus on developing high-quality STEM instruction, creating interdisciplinary lessons and units, and vertically aligning STEM education in K-6, this initiative provides the robust professional learning, job-embedded coaching, and administrative leadership support necessary to create a STEM educational environment.

BPS’s use of Discovery Education Streaming Plus and STEM Connect and their educators’ participation in STEM Leader Corps will be funded, in part, by a grant from the Department of Defense Educational Activities. The 54-month grant provides resources for schools connected to military bases. Around 70 districts connected to a military base across the country applied for the grant, and 30 grants were awarded.

“The teachers and administrators of Bellevue Public Schools are devoted to helping all our students develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in the future,” said BPS Assistant Superintendent Robert Moore. “The digital content and professional development we will receive from Discovery Education will help us meet this goal, and we are excited to team up with their experts and jointly build the culture of STEM teaching and learning we know will prepare our students to succeed beyond graduation.”

BPS educators will also be supported by the Discovery Education Community as they transform students’ learning experiences with dynamic digital media. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration.

“Discovery Education looks forward to supporting the great community of teachers and administrators at BPS as they embark on this initiative,” said Nellie Herchenbach, Partnerships Manager at Discovery Education. “We are completely aligned with the district’s belief that STEM education provides students exciting opportunities for hands-on experiences, interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving, and increased ownership of their learning. We look forward to working with Superintendent Rippe, Assistant Superintendent Moore, and the entire BPS team on this exciting effort.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning 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

As the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12 classrooms worldwide, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional learning, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries around the globe. Inspired by the global media company Discovery Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.

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