Discovery Communications : Wisconsin’s D.C. Everest Area School District Expands Partnership with Discovery Education to Support Strategic Plan Creating Digital Learning Environments

New Digital Textbooks and Professional Development Program Power District's Efforts to Create Engaging, Relevant and Personalized Learning Experiences

Silver Spring, Md. (July 27, 2015) - Wisconsin's D.C. Everest Area School District today announced an expansion of its partnership with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.

In the latest phase of this collaboration, the school system will provide students district-wide access to Discovery Education's award-winning series of Math, Science, and Social Studies digital textbooks. In addition, educators from all 10 district schools will participate in Discovery Education's Digital Leader Corps, fueling an innovative change movement within the school system. A comprehensive multi-year professional development program, Digital Leader Corps cultivates teacher-leaders to support the district's digital transition.

This expanded partnership supports elements of the D.C. Everest Area School District's Comprehensive Information & Technology Plan. A strategic plan guiding the district's development of modern digital learning environments, the Comprehensive Information & Technology Plan calls for the creation of engaging, relevant and personalized learning experiences for all students with the support of state-of-the-art technology. Other components of the district's technology plan include the creation of rigorous, sustained professional development opportunities for all educators and the launch of a 1:1 initiative that will begin with the distribution of iPads to all K-12 students at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year. In addition, educators and students district-wide will continue using Discovery Education Streaming Plus, a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas, which was introduced into district classrooms in 2014.

Discovery Education's Techbooks are a breakthrough digital textbook series that is aligned to rigorous standards, supports a comprehensive curriculum, and is updated regularly at no cost. The series encourages all learners through interactive features that change the reading level of text and enable text to be read aloud. The Techbook series also includes professional development and saves teachers' time with a comprehensive design that places model lessons, student activities and assessments at their fingertips. Techbooks are platform neutral and can be used in 1:1 or 1-to-many configurations and in any instructional environment.

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. Featuring a unique combination of professional learning, pedagogy and tools, 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 D.C. Everest Area School District is committed to working with the community to develop knowledgeable, productive and creative individuals prepared to meet the challenges of an ever-changing global society," said Superintendent Kristine A. Gilmore, Ed.D. "We are pleased to expand our partnership with Discovery Education to support this goal. The combination of dynamic digital content and professional development empowers teachers to meet the diverse needs of our district's students and creates new leadership pathways for our educators. We look forward to the next phase of this powerful collaboration."

The Discovery Educator Network (DEN) will continue supporting D.C. Everest Area School District's educators' efforts to transform students' learning experience 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.

"We are excited to expand our relationship with D.C. Everest Area School District and continue supporting their long-standing tradition of academic excellence," said Josh Truman, director, Discovery Education. "Superintendent Gilmore and her team share Discovery Education's vision for combining dynamic digital content and sustained professional development to create engaging classroom environments. We commend the district's leadership for providing educators district-wide the critical resources that support the success of each learner."

For more information on the Discovery Education Techbook Series, 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 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.www.discoveryeducation.com.