ONLINE EDUCATION
Businessiwire | May 26, 2023
Battelle has funded a new portfolio of 14 out-of-classroom education programs that build science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills through the latest awards with its Central Ohio STEM Grants. As a nonprofit philanthropic trust, Battelle directs the majority of its giving to STEM-related programming to provide opportunities for students to develop skills to become the next generation of innovators.
"Through this program, Battelle is committing more resources toward empowering our local partners’ ideas to expand access to STEM opportunities for students across Central Ohio,” said Wes Hall, Vice President of Philanthropy and Education. "STEM programs that integrate music, agriculture, entrepreneurship and environmental science will ignite sparks of inspiration for thousands of young minds in our community."
This is the tenth year for these competitive awards with the largest ever total funding awarded: $772,000. Investment in the grant program now totals more than $5.6 million.
Following are descriptions of the winning programs:
Continued Programs
Capital University
Capital University will host 100 middle school females for a day of science experimentation and STEM career and education exploration.
Columbus Fashion Alliance
Columbus Fashion Alliance's High School Fashion Club builds upon the principles of STEM to bolster the academic and career skills of participants through the lens of fashion.
Ohio Soybean Council Foundation
The Ohio Soybean Council will reach 400 students in Central Ohio afterschool/summer programs with agriculture-related entrepreneurship lessons, delivered by trained pre-service educators from Ohio State University.
New Programs
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Ohio
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Ohio will host a Youth Empowerment Institute to provide middle and high school students with the opportunity to participate in eight STEM-focused weekend-based sessions throughout the school year.
Charles Madison Nabrit Memorial Garden
Charles Madison Nabrit Memorial Garden will deliver week-long summer STEM camps and daylong pop-up STEM camps for 115 elementary and middle school students in Northeast Columbus around food injustice.
Clintonville-Beechwood Community Resources Center
The Clintonville-Beechwood Community Resources Center will engage K-5 students with weekly lessons on design, illustration and publishing as children each create a comic book to be shared at a family reading event.
Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA)
CAPA will offer Bite-Size Science: The Singing Zoologist to students in grades 1-5 from Columbus City Schools and other districts to teach life cycles, habitats and how these interact with larger ecosystems.
Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services
Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services will expand educational opportunities for New American students in the community to include programming, coding, using electronics and computers. The program will also and create a miniature working city for the local smart city initiative.
Form5 Prosthetics Inc
Form5 will leverage the organization’s PRE-FAB Workshop to inspire 9-12 graders. Students will explore engineering, design and medical-oriented careers through a team-based program as participants build prosthetic devices for mock recipients.
Friends of the Conservatory
Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will expand a STEM program to reach thousands of students in underserved communities, where they will learn STEM principles using the conservatory's resources.
Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council
Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council will launch the Interactive Ecosystem Exploration Project to develop and implement a series of environmental monitoring and tracking systems for girls and to build a better understanding of the natural resources at Camp Ken-Jockety.
Highland Youth Garden
Highland Youth Garden will offer rising 1st-7th grade students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the daily life of a garden, strengthen their STEM learning, deepen their cooking and nutrition skills and participate in healthy play outdoors.
Pyramid Community Development Corporation
Pyramid Community Development’s Ctrl-R program will provide online, in-person and at-home STEAM education to underserved minority students in Linden and its surrounding communities.
TECH CORPS
Unplugged kits from TECH CORPS will excite and empower students on a range of STEM topics ranging from algorithms to virtual reality.
About Battelle
Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries.Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Businesswire | May 22, 2023
Boxlight Corporation a leading provider of interactive technology, digital signage, classroom audio, campus communication, and services announced that it has achieved the Education Services Partner Specialization in Google Cloud Partner Advantage. By earning the Partner Specialization, EOS Education has proven their capability and capacity in building customer solutions in the Education Services field using Google Cloud technology.
Partner Advantage is designed to provide Google Cloud customers with qualified partners that have demonstrated technical proficiency and proven success in specialized solution and service areas.
Partners who specialize in Education Services train educators on the use of Google technology in the classroom and lead schools through transformative change by providing guidance in vision, learning approach, culture, and community.
Since joining Google Cloud Partner Advantage in 2021, EOS Education has developed and facilitated thousands of professional development courses to support teachers and school staff on best practices for using Google platforms in the classroom efficiently and with confidence. Their dedication to providing dynamic interactive learning experiences has endeared them to districts and schools across the country.
“We rely on Google Cloud to streamline instruction for teachers. Our achievement of the Google Cloud Education Specialization recognizes our strategies to evaluate instructional priorities and provide relevant training on Google Workspace tools to meet the needs of all learners,” stated Christine Hall, Training and Development Specialist, EOS Education.
“Google training has become an essential component in modern education, empowering students and teachers with digital skills necessary to thrive in a technology driven world. EOS Education has recognized and embraced Google tools and techniques, providing high-quality training for clients to unlock new opportunities to learn, collaborate and innovate in their classrooms using the Google suite. Google is an important part of the education landscape and this investment into achieving this specialization was critical for Boxlight so our customers have the highest-quality Google training experience,” commented Karen Adams, Senior Vice President for Professional Services, EOS Education.
About Boxlight Corporation
Boxlight Corporation is a leading provider of interactive technology, digital signage, and campus audio, and services under its award-winning brands Mimio®, Clevertouch® Technologies, FrontRow, and EOS Education. The Company aims to improve engagement and communication in diverse business and education environments. Boxlight develops, sells, and services its integrated solution suite including interactive displays, digital signage, collaboration software, supporting accessories and professional services.
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CONTINUING EDUCATION
Businesswire | May 24, 2023
Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced today it has raised a Series C funding round led by Cox Enterprises, a family-owned, Atlanta-based company committed to connectivity, mobility, and sustainable innovation. Cox joins Amplify’s current investors, including Emerson Collective, Learn Capital, and A-Street Ventures.
The funding will support Amplify in continuing to expand the breadth and depth of its K-12 product portfolio, which distinctly combines high-quality, evidence-based instruction with digital-forward delivery to help teachers celebrate and extend their students’ thinking, knowledge, and skills. Already a market leader in literacy and science, Amplify is launching a suite of math programs that will reshape mathematics education by bringing together the leading open-source curriculum (IM K-12 Math™ authored by Illustrative Mathematics®) with the most-beloved teaching and learning platform in math education, Desmos Classroom. The goal is to help every student learn – and learn to love – mathematics.
“Amplify has experienced significant growth and is now proud to serve close to a third of U.S. K-8 students today with programs that uniquely blend the best K-12 content and pedagogy with digital tools that help teachers reach all students and drive measurable academic gains,” said Larry Berger, chief executive officer of Amplify. “This investment will help us grow while ensuring that we elevate K-12 instruction and have as much impact as we can.”
Amplify currently delivers its products and services to over half a million teachers in the United States. Its existing core programs have earned all-green scores on EdReports, a third-party curriculum evaluation site. Amplify’s digital supplemental program, Boost Reading, continues to help schools drive gains in early reading, as does its gold-standard early reading assessment, mCLASS®. By meeting the demand for evidence-based, digital-forward programs, Amplify’s bookings have grown at over a 50 percent compound annual growth rate over the last five years (2017-2022). Amplify also continues to see measurable gains in student achievement when districts and schools implement its programs with some measure of fidelity, e.g., recent studies on Amplify Science, Boost Reading, and Desmos Math 6-8.
“At Cox, we are committed to investing in companies that will reshape their industries over the next generation, bringing positive impact to communities across the country and around the world,” said Mark Lewis, vice president of strategy and investments at Cox Enterprises. “We are excited to help Amplify continue to scale its product offerings and footprint.”
About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in literacy, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify reaches more than 10 million students in all 50 states.
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