EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Spotivity | December 19, 2022
Spotivity, a Chicago-based tech startup has fully launched the industry’s first research-informed decision engine to help teens find meaningful afterschool engagement while also supporting program providers to lower liability, improve participant engagement, and drive recruitment. spotivity supports teens through its’ “Pocket Genie” the research-informed machine learning recommendation created in partnership with Utah State University under the guidance of Montana Butsch and Dr. Travis Dorsch.
Completed Pocket Genie launched The Genie is a patent-protected algorithm that utilizes key insights from the user to help identify meaningful non-prescriptive pathways for the user to pursue. In short – spotivity makes the unkowns known and peels back the curtain on pathway routes a teen can take. Specific information on the approach can be found in a recently published blog by Dr. Dorsch https://www.spotivity.com/blog/spotivity-a-research-approach-to-access/. As he clearly underscores, “Many children learn that some dream jobs are out of reach while others lack the functional knowledge to even know that some careers exist. In many cases, children don’t have knowledge of or access to the right preparation pathways to even start planning appropriately. The root problem seems to be that the process of finding a career is largely uninformed by evidence-based principles.”
About Montana
Montana is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, read Education Research at Oxford University, is an Executive Scholar at Northwestern University, and, most recently, an Executive MBA Graduate from Brown University. Upon concluding work at Oxford, he focused on pursuing social ventures in Chicago, which led to the founding of the Chicago Training Center ‘CTC’ in 2006.
About spotivity
spotivity was informed by Butsch’s experience as the founder of CTC. Recent media coverage has centered on the #micdropchallenge www.micdropchallenge.com spotivity is an 1871 member, portfolio company of the Founder Institute, and graduate of the UVI Accelerate Accelerator
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Apogee, Inc. | January 02, 2023
Apogee, an industry leader in managed technology services for higher education, has recently announced the acquisition of Cumulus Technology Services Inc. Headquartered in Ventura, California, Cumulus Technology Services is a specialist in secure cloud services for higher education and an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Select Consulting Partner.
This acquisition reaffirms Apogee's commitment to be the preferred managed technology partner for universities and colleges that strive to innovate and transform. The acquisition extends the managed networking and IT services capabilities of Apogee into the cloud, enabling the new potential for higher education IT innovation to enhance student experiences and promote institutional competitiveness.
While the use of technology in attracting and retaining students and providing great blended learning and student life experiences is growing, IT teams in higher education confront increasing difficulty in acquiring and retaining IT expertise. Services and products that delegate IT operations, manage expenses, improve operational effectiveness, and foster innovation are in great demand. Improving the delivery of managed cloud services in higher education helps universities and educational institutions liberate time for innovation, as promised by Apogee.
The following acquired services will be incorporated into Apogee's managed technology services portfolio:
Secure Cloud Services increase Apogee's expertise in cloud, security, and data center management. Cumulus Technology Services' significant understanding of enterprise resource planning (ERP) cloud migration and containerization, Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS), Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS), and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) will enable Apogee to provide colleges and universities even improved performance, scalability, robustness, and security of their apps, infrastructure, and data.
Cumulus Data Adapter (CDA) connects and synchronizes institutional ERP systems such as Ellucian Banner® with learning management systems (LMS) such as Canvas by Instructure using a secure, simple-to-deploy technology that significantly enhances IT administration efficiency and student life. As a managed service, CDA is an additional critical tool that addresses the major pain point of data synchronization between LMSs and ERPs, hence easing student data integration difficulties for IT and enhancing the student experience for class registration and attendance.
Security Services bolster Apogee's security experience and expertise, allowing for the delivery of brawl-tested college security assessments, ransomware incident response readiness, and staffing and disaster recovery plans.
About Apogee
Apogee, a leading provider of managed IT services founded in 1999 in Austin, enables colleges and universities to innovate in order to improve the campus experience and foster student life. Apogee helps over one million students and administrators from over 350 colleges and universities across the United States. The company's extensive array of managed services includes Managed Campus networks and IT services, campus engagement, residential networks (ResNet), and video.
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CONTINUING EDUCATION
Milton Hershey School | November 14, 2022
Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning (CHS) announced yesterday at an event at Eden Resort & Suites in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that it will open three Early Childhood Education Centers (ECECs) in Lancaster County to serve children from birth to age 5 from economically disadvantaged and at-risk backgrounds. The cost-free Centers will be located in Lancaster City, New Danville, and Elizabethtown. At yesterday's event, Lancaster County community leaders and child advocates heard from CHS and Milton Hershey School (MHS) leadership about their approach to providing accessible early childhood education. CHS intends to support and work collaboratively with existing Lancaster County organizations to serve local children and families. City of Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace also spoke, explaining how the addition of the CHS Centers will positively impact the broader Lancaster County community. The three CHS Centers in Lancaster County are part of a $350 million initiative to initially develop six ECECs in the state as subsidiaries of MHS. Each will offer a non-residential, year-round core early learning program with a curriculum designed to enhance children's educational, social, and emotional development. It also will provide children with nutritious meals, transportation, and other needed supplies, along with integrated support services to families of enrolled children. All of this will be provided with all costs covered to qualifying families. Yesterday's announcement was suitably made during Founders Week at MHS, which celebrates the anniversary of Milton and Catherine Hershey establishing the school 113 years ago. The Hersheys' legacy is deeply rooted in Lancaster County, making this expansion especially meaningful. Milton Hershey spent his childhood in Bart Township and, as an adult, opened the Lancaster Caramel Company. Lancaster County is also where Milton and Catherine Hershey spent the early years of their marriage and invested in the Lancaster community through their support of St. Joseph's Hospital, Franklin & Marshall College, and Catherine's service as an inaugural member of the Lancaster Charity Society.
The Lancaster County CHS Centers are expected to begin opening in 2026.
ABOUT CATHERINE HERSHEY SCHOOLS FOR EARLY LEARNING
Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning will provide a cost-free educational, social, and cognitive program to children from birth to age 5 from economically disadvantaged and at-risk backgrounds through the development of initially six Early Childhood Education Centers. The Centers are subsidiaries of Milton Hershey School and will be staffed and operated independently of the Milton Hershey School core model. For more information, visit chslearn.org.
ABOUT MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL
Milton Hershey School is one of the world's best private schools, where qualifying students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade live on campus and receive an exceptional educational experience—with all costs covered.
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