South Dakota's Pierre School District Selects Discovery Education to Support Its Mission to Inspire All Students to Achieve Their Potential
SILVER SPRING, MD (Thursday, April 15, 2021)—South Dakota's Pierre School District (PSD) today announced the launch of a new partnership with Discovery Education supporting the district's mission to inspire all students to achieve their potential. Through this new collaboration, educators, and students across the school system will soon receive access to a suite of Discovery Education's award-winning digital learning resources. With these resources, district educators are empowered to support students' future success through curiosity, engagement, and real-world learning experiences at home, in the classroom, or wherever instruction is taking place. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.
After a year of providing students instruction in both the in-person and remote environments, PSD sought flexible digital resources that would offer all students the flexibility to continue their instruction whenever or wherever learning takes place. Following a rigorous review, the district selected Discovery Education to provide the following digital resources to teachers and students:
The Discovery Education platform. Discovery Education's flexible K-12 learning platform connects educators to a vast collection of compelling, high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, and professional learning resources. Together, these resources give educators everything they need to facilitate instruction in any learning environment and create lasting educational impact.
Discovery Education's team continues adding, contextualizing, and organizing exciting new content and timely resources to the platform each month in response to current events and the ever-evolving needs of educators. These resources, sourced from trusted partners, are aligned to state and national standards, and help educators bring the outside world into teaching and learning every day.
Finally, the Discovery Education platform is designed to work within school systems' existing infrastructure and workflows. Through expanded partnerships with Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, and Clever, integrating the platform into existing IT architecture is easier than ever. PSD educators and students districtwide will have access to this resource.
Discovery Education Science Techbooks. The Discovery Education Science Techbook series—which is currently used in classrooms across the United States and Canada—is a comprehensive, research-backed science solution for grades K-12. Delivered through Discovery Education's K-12 platform, the Science Techbook series drives engagement with exclusive phenomena and interactive content. Virtual and hands-on investigations, STEM activities, and a variety of instructional supports enhance the delivery of impactful, blended instruction, in person or at a distance.
Available with the Science Techbooks are coordinated digital and print teacher guides offering unit, concept, and lesson overviews, standards connections, and differentiation activities to inform instructional planning and guide three-dimensional learning. Teacher editions also provide flexible pacing options, embedded teacher notes, and Pathways for Learning to address diverse learners. Print student editions and interactive worktexts are available for every grade level and integrate seamlessly with the digital and hands-on assets of this comprehensive program. PSD educators and students in grades 3-5 will have access to this resource.
Mystery Science. Mystery Science—which joined the family of Discovery Education services in 2020—is an easy-to-use digital resource featuring ready-to-teach multimedia science and STEM lessons for K-5 students. Each lesson begins by posing a question commonly asked by young students, which is followed by a series of brief videos and prompts used to guide class discussion. The lesson concludes with an activity incorporating basic supplies commonly found in a classroom or at home.
Mystery Science lessons cover a wide range of questions children wonder about, including Where do rivers flow? Could a volcano pop up where you live? Why do the stars come out at night? and How far can a whisper travel?  PSD educators in grades K-2 will have access to this resource.
With this suite of dynamic digital resources, school leaders believe they now have engaging adaptable digital resources that will help the district create new learning opportunities for all students.
"COVID-19 and its effects have spurred us to rethink how we deliver instruction," said Troy Wiebe, the Pierre School District's Director of Education. "Our new partnership with Discovery Education puts high-quality digital resources into the hands of all our educators and students and provides us with tremendous flexibility in how we deliver instruction now and in the future."
To help the district recognize the full return on their EdTech investment, Discovery Education will provide PSD's educators dedicated professional learning. Through these interactive professional development sessions, participants will learn best practices for integrating their new digital resources into instruction. Effective professional development will maximize the power of these resources, increase student engagement in learning, and support students' continued academic development.
PSD's partnership with Discovery Education also provides all district teachers access to the Discovery Education Community. 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.
"With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to come into sight, school systems nationwide are beginning to look at how they can better deliver instruction to students in the post-COVID-19 environment, and in South Dakota, the Pierre School District is leading this conversation," said Adriana Ramirez, Discovery Education's Manager of Education Partnerships. "The Pierre School District has a laser-like focus on creating up-to-date, flexible learning environments that will support the success of all learners, and Discovery Education is excited and honored to support their work."
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 Twitter and LinkedIn.
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Through its award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia resources, and the largest professional learning network of its kind, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning, creating immersive STEM experiences, and improving academic achievement around the globe. Discovery Education currently serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 140 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to empower teachers with customized solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.
Stephen Wakefield
Email: swakefield@discoveryed.com