Corporate Education and Training
PR Newswire | August 25, 2023
Based on nationwide research, the majority of high school graduates face a lack of preparedness in making crucial college or career decisions upon graduation, often feeling uncertain about their chosen educational or career paths. • Nearly 75% of high school graduates did not feel fully prepared to decide on their future career or education during high school. • 37% of high school graduates are not sure they are where they want to be in their education or career path
Moreover, the strain on counselors and teachers–due to heavy workloads and limited resources–exacerbates the issue by creating gaps in essential discussions about postsecondary opportunities. There is an acute need for solutions that bridge this gap, and help students who are struggling to transition from high school to college, trade school, and career.
YouScience® is the leading technology provider dedicated to solving the skills gap crisis for students and employers. Thousands of middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities, trade schools, chambers of commerce, and employer partners use various applications from YouScience. The award-winning education technology company recently launched YouScience Brightpath, which supports educators in addressing critical issues facing students in one unified platform.
With Brightpath, educators can:
1. Personalize students' education pathways for increased academic and career success.
2. Provide deeper purpose for classwork by supporting real-world career outcomes into every student's educational journey.
3. Connect students to their future by bridging the gap between education and industry in meaningful and personalized ways.
4. Support every student's growth through the major transitions between middle school to high school, high school to post-secondary learning, and from the classroom to careers.
"Brightpath has been an incredible tool to measure student growth in the classroom," said Joel Casiday, from Coldspring-Oakhurst High School in Coldspring, Texas. "Our teachers can give their pre-assessment at the beginning of the year and then the certification exam for the course at the end of the year. The student receives real-time certifications and the teacher has valuable data that shows student growth and instructional impact. With the launch of the career research tools and all the full Brightpath suite offers, our students will be poised for success after graduation."
YouScience Brightpath makes it easier for educators to help students connect what they are learning in the classroom to real-world applications. This includes career and technical education (CTE) programs, skill certifications and credentials, and resume creation.
"Having a comprehensive platform that helps us connect what students are learning in the classroom with real-world career opportunities turns education into a tangible experience," said Thalea Longhurst, State CTE Director for the Utah State Board of Education. "Local employers also like YouScience Brightpath because they can engage with students, who have the aptitudes and certifications they need, to start building a talent pipeline. It opens doors and opportunities for all Utah students to have a successful future—whether that's 4-year college, trade school, or jumping into a career."
Research shows that helping students discover their aptitudes, and building personalized high school and postsecondary pathways, enables student success. In 2022, nearly 80% of high school graduates reported feeling better prepared to choose their educational and/or career pathway based on understanding their natural aptitudes.
"Unleashing student potential is at the heart of what we do," said YouScience CEO Edson Barton. "To do that we must empower educators with the best professional tools. Brightpath makes it easier to collaborate across schools and districts, between middle and high schools, and from grade to grade. Brightpath is designed for today's professional educator. Speed, ease of use, scalability, and systems simplicity is top of mind."
About YouScience
YouScience is the leading technology provider dedicated to solving the skills gap crisis for students and employers. Its end-to-end platform, YouScience® Brightpath, connects education with career applications designed to help students unlock their potential for future pathways. YouScience leverages proven research, artificial intelligence, and industry input to help individuals identify their natural talents, validate their skills and knowledge, and get matched with real-world educational and career pathways in high-demand occupations. YouScience is the preferred choice of individuals, parents, educators, and counselors to guide and support educational and career pathways, currently serving more than 7,000 educational institutions and nearly one million users.
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Talent Development
PRnewswire | July 27, 2023
StraighterLine, a creator of affordable, flexible and career-aligned postsecondary courses and credentials that serves over 150,000 learners per year, announced today the appointment of Allison Lesser as vice president of digital marketing. With a track record of successfully leading branding and digital and omni-channel marketing for education, consumer and media brands for more than 20 years, Lesser joins the company after spending more than a decade in branding, digital marketing and user experience leadership roles at education technology companies.
"Allison's extensive experience in education technology and her passion for making education and training more accessible align perfectly with StraighterLine's vision," said Heather Combs, CEO of StraighterLine. "We are thrilled to have her join our team and lead our digital marketing efforts. Her expertise and leadership will drive our mission forward and help us reach even more learners around the world."
In her new role, Lesser will oversee digital marketing strategies and initiatives to support the company's growing platform of courses and new product innovations. She will be responsible for shaping the technical vision and strategy for the StraighterLine platform, driving product innovation and enhancing the overall learning experience for students.
Lesser most recently worked for The Teaching Company, known for its content brands The Great Courses and Wondrium. There, led the acquisition marketing team for Wondrium's video streaming product of nonfiction content and successfully hired, trained and mentored a team of marketers. During the pandemic, her team increased spend by more than 70% in a short time frame while keeping the cost per acquisition within business goals. Her dedication and commitment to delivering strong results in a fast-paced and evolving environment exemplify her leadership skills.
Earlier in her career, Lesser held various leadership roles in the education and digital marketing sectors. She began her journey in education technology in 2011 as the director of product marketing for online education developer K12, where she worked closely with market research and developed positioning for educational products. She also served as the director of digital marketing for Envision, the pioneering developer of career exploration and leadership development experiences for K-12 students. She began her career working in the global headquarters of AOL, where she spent ten years focused on consumer experience and driving product, marketing and content teams to make decisions based on consumer data.
Aside from her professional achievements, Lesser is actively involved in volunteer work and regularly participates in races that support various causes and sponsors two children from Tanzania through Compassion International, providing them with letters of encouragement. She also volunteers at Potowmack Elementary in Sterling, Virginia, where she works closely with the school liaison and social worker to identify ways to help families in need. A resident of Northern Virginia, Lesser has been happily married to her husband, Chris Lesser, for 20 years and is a proud mother of two teenage children.
About StraighterLine:
StraighterLine is the leading provider of high-quality, affordable, online courses that help learners earn college credit and meet their professional goals. Each year, 150,000 learners take one of StraighterLine's 250+ courses to upskill into new careers or earn credit from over 2,000 colleges and universities worldwide. StraighterLine works with institutions and corporate partners to provide their students and employees with flexible education options that allow them to work and learn at their own pace.
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Talent Development
PRnewswire | August 24, 2023
Noodle, higher education's leading strategy, services and technology partner, has completed the acquisition of Meteor Learning, a Certified B edtech corporation based in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Noodle, also a Certified B corporation, welcomes Meteor Learning's higher education and employer partners into its network. This addition strengthens Noodle's ability to help its partners be more resilient, responsive and efficient.
William Rieders and Donna Ritchie, Meteor's founders, will join the Noodle leadership team and will head Noodle's consulting practice, driving strategic insights and operational effectiveness for Noodle partners.
"Meteor extends our capacity and reach, and I am very excited to work with Bill and Donna, who bring tremendous insight and experience to the team," said John Katzman, Noodle's founder and CEO. "This acquisition will expand our consulting practice with leadership and expertise, methodologies and proven results to solve a unique challenge – how does higher ed best leverage technology and data to execute against their strategic goals?"
With this acquisition, Noodle now supports more than 65 top US and UK universities through aligned learning design, marketing, recruiting, support, strategy and technology services. Noodle provides these services, along with internal resources at its partner universities, to address challenges and opportunities that higher ed faces.
"This acquisition will provide Meteor Learning partners with additional scale, expanded services and innovative new models to support greater flexibility, efficiency and internal capacity building," said William Rieders. "Universities are looking for a strategy, services and technology partner to help navigate the rapidly changing post-secondary market. The combination of the two organizations gives us that much more capacity to be their strategic partner."
Meteor's focus on skills-based programs provides a strong catalyst for Noodle's University-to-Employer service, addressing some of the most significant workforce challenges in such areas as Nursing and Education.
About Noodle
Noodle is higher education's leading strategy, services and technology partner. Founded in 2013, Noodle has developed infrastructure and online enrollment growth for some of the best academic institutions in the world. Our vision is "to empower universities to change the world." We achieve this vision by offering our partners various products and services that help them become more resilient, responsive, efficient and interconnected. Noodle is a Certified B edtech corporation.
About Meteor
Meteor Learning is a leader in addressing the vast skills gap. Meteor is uniquely positioned to serve learners with its broad portfolio of skills-based programming developed and validated with higher education and employer partners. Led by seasoned educational technology and service executives, Meteor Learning is a high-growth company with deep expertise in serving the needs of adult learners. Meteor Learning is a Certified B Corporation, Boston Business Journal Fast 50 Company and Inc. 5000 award winner.
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