Discovery Communications : New York’s East Irondequoit Central School District and Discovery Education Launch New Partnership Advancing Student Achievement Through Digital Resources and Professional Development

Access to Award-Winning Streaming Service and Professional Learning Initiative Helps Build Educators' Capacity to Create Dynamic Digital Learning Environments

Silver Spring, Md. (January 21, 2016) - New York's East Irondequoit Central School District today announced the launch of a new partnership with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.

As part of this collaboration, all K-12 classrooms across the district will have access to engaging digital content through the award-winning Discovery Education Streaming Plus, a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas. In addition, 25 educators and their administrators from all six district schools will participate in Discovery Education's Digital Leader Corps. A comprehensive professional development system, Digital Leader Corps develops teacher-leaders to propel the district's transition to modern digital learning environments. East Irondequoit Central School District's professional development program will be supported by Monroe #1 BOCES. Instructional coaches from the Monroe #1 BOCES will also participate in the Digital Leader Corps initiative, as part of their mission to develop high-quality learning experiences for every student by impacting every teacher through leadership and innovative practices.

In 2013, under the leadership of New York State Superintendent of the Year Susan Allen, the district embarked on a 1:1 initiative to provide students with more personalized educational experiences that better maximize learning opportunities and stimulate creativity and imagination. This initiative enables students to strengthen their creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills through anywhere, anytime learning opportunities.

Supporting this initiative is a rigorous staff development effort which will help all teachers effectively integrate new educational technologies and digital media into classroom instruction and develop technology-enriched, relevant learning experiences for students. Discovery Education's unique combination of curriculum-based digital content and professional development supports both facets of the district's effort to create dynamic digital classrooms.

'The East Irondequoit Central School District is committed to creating engaging digital learning environments where information and resources are available at students' fingertips 24/7, and where learning is even more collaborative, inquiry-driven and personalized,' said Mary Grow, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, East Irondequoit Central School District. 'The addition of Discovery Education's dynamic digital resources and robust professional development will help our educators meet this goal and ensure a successful digital conversion.'

'Monroe BOCES #1 is thrilled to collaborate with East Irondequoit Central School District and Discovery Education on this unique and comprehensive professional development effort,' said Dr. Jeremiah Okal-Frink, Director of Learning and School Improvement at Monroe #1 BOCES. 'We look forward to participating and then continuing the learning and support of our local school systems that Discovery Education will begin through the Digital Leader Corps.'

Discovery Education Streaming Plus' digital resources are aligned to state standards, are searchable, and include videos, images, primary source documents, podcasts, oral interviews, audio books, articles and more. Teacher resources in Streaming Plus include lesson plans, instructional strategies and content collections organized around themes, as well as including instructional videos, skill builders, writing prompts, multimedia activities and articles. Through its popular Board Builder feature, students can create virtual project boards using multimedia and text to synthesize their thinking and provide evidence of their understanding of a concept or problem.

Featuring a unique combination of professional learning, pedagogy and tools, Discovery Education's Digital Leader Corps helps school systems develop a network of teacher-leaders prepared to design and implement successful and innovative teaching strategies to be shared with their peers. Digital Leader Corps offers participating educators proven strategies for integrating educational technologies and digital media into classroom instruction including educator created, student-centered Learning Labs. In these labs, teachers bring to life new teaching strategies, and practice and adapt their skills in a classroom setting before sharing their successes broadly with their colleagues. The Digital Leader Corps program provides teachers with continuous customized, job-embedded consultation throughout the process with on-going modeling, coaching and feedback from Discovery Education experts in the pre-planning, stakeholder communications and implementation phases.

The Discovery Educator Network (DEN) will also support East Irondequoit Central School District's educators in their efforts to transform students' learning experiences with digital media. A global community of education professionals, the DEN connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration.

'Discovery Education is proud to support East Irondequoit Central School District's transition to digital learning by building the capacity of their teachers to make a positive impact on student achievement,' said Sara Peters, Manager of Education Partnerships at Discovery Education. 'We applaud Superintendent Allen and the entire team at East Irondequoit Central School District for their dedication to providing all teachers and students with digital tools and resources that foster authentic, real-world learning experiences.'

For more information about Discovery Education Streaming Plus, the Digital Leader Corps and other Discovery Education services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com.

About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 3 million educators and over 30 million students, Discovery Education's services are in half of U.S. classrooms, over 40 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.