School Improvement Network Collaborates with Pearson; Brings Together Two Powerhouse Education Technology Companies

School Improvement Network’s PD 360 Integrates with Pearson’s Schoolnet to Merge Professional Development with Teacher Evaluation and Observation Data

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, and Pearson, the global leader in education and technology, today announced a partnership that joins the two market leaders in instructional improvement analytics and research-proven professional development tools. Together, these companies work with more than half of America’s schools providing comprehensive resources for administrators and teachers.

“This partnership brings together two proven strategies to positively impact student achievement”

The partnership will bring Schoolnet clients across the country an instructional improvement system with integrated professional development content. Specifically designed to connect educators to research-proven educator effectiveness resources, the new integration will include School Improvement Network’s award-winning PD 360 library, an ever-growing collection of resources including over 2,000 video segments showing best practices in education from classrooms across the country, inside Pearson’s Schoolnet, an instructional improvement system integrating instructional management and educator development. Together, this integration will provide best practice examples and research information for teachers and administrators.

“This partnership brings together two proven strategies to positively impact student achievement," said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. "As the pressure for compliance with teacher evaluations grows, it's more vital than ever that administrators have a way to connect evaluations and observations to tools for continued educator effectiveness and ongoing improvement. Schoolnet paired with PD 360 will give administrators a way to focus on systemic improvement by putting research-proven, relevant learning resources at teachers' fingertips.”

The inclusion of the PD 360 library in Schoolnet will enable schools and systems to aggregate all of their professional learning activities into a single catalogue. Teachers and leaders will be able to browse, search and share relevant training content tied directly to their personal goals, teaching standards and evaluation results. PD 360 resources will be available through the PD 360 Video Player, and will include over 2,000 videos with 120 education experts on 125 topics in education, all of which align to teacher evaluations and frameworks. The award-winning platform also includes reflection questions, forums and access to PD 360’s professional learning community of over 900,000 verified educators.

“Pearson is committed to working with partners such as School Improvement Network to deliver integrated solutions to our customers,” said Patty McDonald, Ph.D., director product management of digital content solutions for Pearson’s K-12 technology organization. “PD 360’s integration with Schoolnet is a great example of how we have worked together on a solution that will make a positive impact on teaching and learning.”

The integrated PD 360 and Schoolnet will be available in schools and districts across the country, including all 1,200 schools in the state of Kentucky. Kentucky’s integration will begin in February, along with thousands of PD 360 and Schoolnet users nationwide who will now be able to integrate data-driven education software with professional development research proven to increase teacher effectiveness and student achievement.

“Kentucky teachers have already realized the value of each of these resources separately,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “Their integration through Kentucky’s Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System will bring all the elements together into a powerful tool to support Kentucky teachers as they work to achieve our goal of college and career-readiness for all students.”

As part of this ongoing partnership, School Improvement Network’s Common Core 360 will soon integrate with Schoolnet’s instructional management system to provide educators resources for implementing the Common Core Standards, including real classroom examples and sample lesson plans.

About School Improvement Network

Founded in 1991 by teachers, School Improvement Network has spent decades researching and documenting the best practices in education. From this research, School Improvement Network has developed the Educator Effectiveness System. This system outlines a process to improve teacher practice, and arms educators with a set of powerful tools to drive the process. Research shows that districts and schools that use the tools in the Educator Effectiveness System produce better teachers, and as a result experience dramatic increases in student achievement, driving up student test scores by as much as 30 percent in a single year. School Improvement Network works with thousands of schools and districts in every state and around the world and has visited over 3,500 classrooms to document best practices in action. Learn more at http://www.schoolimprovement.com.

School Improvement Network and its logos are trademarks of School Improvement Network. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Pearson

Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the global leader in education and learning technology, aims to help people make progress in life through learning. Pearson’s leadership spans pre-K12, higher education, and corporate learning globally. Pearson’s other primary businesses include the Financial times Group and the Penguin Group. For more information about the K-12 Technology group of Pearson, visit www.pearsonschoolsystems.com.