Clayton County Public Schools to Work with Discovery Education to Promote STEM Education

A new partnership with Discovery Education will support STEM education in Clayton County Public Schools K-8 classrooms.

FREMONT, CA: “Clayton County Public School is committed to creating academically challenging, safe environments grounded in the instructional priorities of literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, and technology integration. These new resources support that mission, and we look forward to integrating them into classroom STEM instruction,” says Trina Reaves, CCPS Director of STEM and Innovation. Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) in Georgia have established a new partnership with Discovery Education to promote STEM education in K-8 classrooms throughout the district. Under this new partnership, educators and students in thirteen district schools are now utilizing the award-winning digital resources of Discovery Education to promote STEM education. Discovery Education is the global leader in edtech, and its cutting-edge digital platform enables learning wherever it occurs.

CCPS is listed among the 100 largest school districts in the United States and is the fifth-largest school system in Georgia, with more than 52,000 students.

Ninety distinct ethnicities and nations are represented in the school district, and 72 different languages are spoken.

When the Office of STEM & Innovation at CCPS sought an engaging digital solution that would empower scholars to achieve academic and personal goals by providing equitable access to resources and experiences that build the skills required for the 21st century and beyond, it conducted a thorough analysis of available options. Following this evaluation, the district chose the Discovery Education platform and STEM Connect to assist CCPS teachers in developing interdisciplinary lessons and STEM packages.

The Discovery Education platform provides educators with enhanced learning resources that facilitate daily, engaging instruction in any learning environment by connecting them to a vast collection of high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, quiz and activity creation tools, and professional learning resources.

These tools, collected from reputable partners and aligned with state and national standards, enable educators to include the outside world in their daily teaching and learning.

Discovery Education's K-12 learning platform is designed to integrate with existing school infrastructure and workflows and gives educators and students safe, secure, and simple access methods. Through enhanced, long-term agreements with Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, Brightspace, and Clever, integrating Discovery Education's K-12 learning platform into current IT architecture is now simpler than ever.

STEM Connect is an interdisciplinary K-8 resource delivered to students via the Discovery Education platform that combines dynamic digital content with ready-to-use lessons and hands-on activities to enhance the core curriculum and cultivate valuable design thinking skills that prepare students for the future. Based on the 4Cs framework and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, STEM Connect intentionally integrates across disciplines and provides all the required materials to introduce students to real-world situations and design thinking abilities.

Together, these resources provide district educators with potent tools for exploring uncharted territories of learning opportunities through research-based design thinking, creating mechanisms for critical thinking, problem-solving, and culturally responsive outcomes, and reimagining endless possibilities for essential thought solutions to future problems.

Discovery Education will also give CCPPS instructors specialized professional development to assist teachers in utilizing these resources effectively in the upcoming school year and realizing the full value of their edtech investment. Through these engaging professional development events, participants will discover best practices for using their newly acquired digital resources in STEM education. Good professional development will optimize the use of these resources, increase student participation in learning, and support the academic development of all students.

The Discovery Educator Network supports CCPS instructors who use Discovery Education resources as they transform student learning experiences with dynamic digital media. The Discovery Educator Network is a global community of education professionals that connects members across school systems and the globe through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering networking, idea exchange, and inspiration.

"Discovery Education is proud to launch this new partnership with the talented team at Clayton County Public Schools," says Kristin Nix, Discovery Education Regional Vice President. "We look forward to working to support their innovative vision for STEM education in their community."