EdCircuit Staff 
Charlotte, NC (Thursday, January 11, 2024)—Tennessee’s Hardeman County Schools (HCS) today announced a new phase in its partnership with global edtech leader Discovery Education that is bringing new digital resources to students districtwide. Thanks to this new collaboration, teachers and students across HCS will have access to a suite of award-winning digital products that prepare students for college and careers and nurture their inherent curiosity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and all other subjects.
Located in Southwest Tennessee, HCS’s approximately 250 educators serve nearly 3,300 students daily, providing a high-quality education in a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment that builds foundations for lifelong learning. These foundations include academics, social emotional skills, technological competencies, and career awareness.
To support this mission, HCS sought a suite of flexible, standards-aligned digital learning resources that were easy to integrate into instruction and had a proven record of engaging students in STEM education and stoking curiosity in all other subjects. Following a careful review of available resources, HCS selected the following products for use in district classrooms:
Discovery Education Experience. Discovery Education Experience will now be available in all district elementary and middle school classrooms. Connecting educators to a vast collection of high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, intuitive quiz and activity creation tools, and professional learning resources, Discovery Education Experience provides an enhanced learning platform that facilitates engaging instruction in any environment. 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. Through expanded, lasting partnerships with Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, Brightspace, and Clever, integrating Discovery Education’s K-12 learning platform into existing Information Technology architecture is easier than ever.
STEM Connect. An interdisciplinary K-8 resource that blends dynamic digital content with ready-to-use lessons and hands-on activities, STEM Connect enhances core curriculum and cultivates valuable design thinking skills that prepare students for the future. STEM Connect purposefully integrates across disciplines and provides all the necessary resources to introduce real-world challenges to students. Together, these resources provide educators with a suite of powerful tools with which they can create opportunities for critical thinking and problem-solving.
Discovery Education Coding. With Discovery Education Coding, elementary and middle school students are inspired to learn important coding concepts as they develop computational thinking skills through decomposition, logical reasoning, and problem solving. Based in part on the award-winning Discovery Education Coding service used by teachers across the United Kingdom, the U.S. version of Coding features a wide array of resources that help students take coding from concept to reality.
These new digital solutions will be used alongside Mystery Science by Discovery Education, which is currently available in Middleton Elementary School.
“We believe that providing all students a rich background in STEM education is critical to promoting college and career readiness,” said Michelle Howell, Hardeman County Schools Supervisor of Instruction. “The new state-of-the-art digital resources from Discovery Education coming to our classrooms will engage our students in STEM and all other subjects in an exciting new way. Our educators look forward to integrating these new resources into classroom activities.”
In addition, all HCS educators using Discovery Education solutions will receive dedicated professional development from Discovery Education’s team of professional learning experts. These learning opportunities for teachers help schools recognize the full return on their edtech investment. Through Discovery Education’s interactive professional development sessions, participants will learn best practices for integrating their new digital resources into instruction. Effective professional development increases student engagement in learning and supports the continued academic development of all students.
Also, educators at HCS enjoy access to the Discovery Education Network. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Network connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable idea sharing and inspiration.
“Discovery Education is proud to support Hardeman County Schools’ work to provide all students the strong grounding in STEM and other subjects that leads to college and career readiness,” said Kim McCullough, Discovery Education’s Account Executive. “The district’s efforts to provide students dependable, dynamic digital resources and teachers meaningful professional learning that drives return on this edtech investment creates powerful learning experiences that prepare all learners for life beyond graduation. We look forward to continuing to support Hardeman County Schools’ as they prepare students to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions visit www.discoveryeducation.com and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
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