The Houston Independent School District Approves Teachstone as an Academic Consultant

News provided by

Mar 31, 2023, 07:00 ET

HOUSTON , March 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachstone has partnered with early childhood professionals since 2008, and its Classroom Assessment Scoring System^® (CLASS®) is used in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems throughout the United States. Teachstone was recently approved as a preferred vendor for academic consultation in the Houston Independent School District (ISD), the largest school district in Texas, with 274 schools and over 194,000 students.

Using CLASS promotes high-quality engagement between educators and the children in their care as seen in this pre-K classroom.

Meaningful educator-child interactions are critical to childhood cognitive development and the formation of behavior management skills. A multitude of studies support the validity of using CLASS^® to improve literacy, math, and social-emotional outcomes. This approach also benefits educators by minimizing disciplinary referrals and improving their ability to instruct students from diverse backgrounds. Not only does CLASS^® rely on a holistic, data-driven approach to guide educators and promote impactful educator-child interactions, but it also coincides with tailored professional development opportunities.

Recent legislation by the state of Texas ensures that CLASS^® is now embedded as an option within Texas Rising Star, an early childhood improvement system that weighs early educational environments according to different categories. Incorporating the CLASS^® system will help programs meet Category 2 requirements, which measure the overall effectiveness of teacher-child interactions. It provides tiered, enhanced reimbursement from the Texas Workforce Commission's Child Care Services program to certified and licensed programs that exceed the state's minimum standards.

Along with using CLASS^® to meet state requirements, Teachstone's approval as a preferred vendor for academic consultation meets the Central Texas Purchasing Association (CTPA) requirements for resource-sharing. Representing over 130 Texas school districts, the CTPA supports educational institutions through mentoring services and the ability to share established contracts. Active CTPA members can now contract with Teachstone to incorporate CLASS^® into their educational environments and reap the benefits of high-quality instructional support.

About Teachstone
With decades of early childhood education research as a foundation, Teachstone offers products and services to help educators unlock the power of interactions while creating a culture of quality improvement that supports children's social, emotional, and developmental success. Teachstone's CLASS measure is currently used in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) and Head Start programs throughout the United States. Learn more about Teachstone and its offerings at www.teachstone.com.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Teachstone