Pennsylvania Non-Profit Partners With Arkansas Educators

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Jun 09, 2020, 15:38 ET

ROCHESTER, Pa., June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lincoln Learning Solutions today announced it will partner with the Arkansas Department of Education to provide the foundation for its Arkansas Ready for Learning initiative, a statewide digital learning plan intended to meet the state's goal to reopen schools for the 2020-2021 school year.

"This is a natural partnership and we are ready to get their schools access to the digital content they need to be back open in August under as normal of circumstances as possible, which is one of their governor's goals," Bob Clements, Lincoln Learning Solutions CEO, said.

In presenting the details of the initiative to its 1,054 public schools, Commissioner of Education, Johnny Key, told teachers and administrators that, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Arkansas made a seamless transition, even though it may not have felt that way.

"Arkansas was definitely ahead of the pack. We know we've missed some things…but I think it's also important that we focus on what we've learned that will help us do better and be better prepared, and more nimble in meeting the needs of all students in the future," Keys said.

During the presentation, Division of Secondary and Elementary Education officials said they expect all districts to move to some type of blended-learning system, which would include a learning management system, digital content aligned to grade-level standards, access to devices, and connectivity to support synchronous or asynchronous learning. Officials said schools that already had a blended-learning system in place were able to adapt much faster than schools that didn't.

Because flexibility is a Lincoln Learning Solutions hallmark, Clements said his organization will be able to help Arkansas' educators develop a blended-learning program that allows them to smoothly pivot back and forth between being on site and learning online, in addition to allowing teachers to tailor lessons to meet the individual needs of their students.

"When schools reopen, they're going to have a lot on their plates, including guidance from their state health departments, so it's up to us to make this an easy transition for them. We've been doing this for 15 years, so we're confident we have the library of products, the support and service, the expertise, as well as the flexibility to guide their teachers in developing an educational experience they believe is high quality and best suited to their students."

According to DESE, the pilot program will be funded through the federal CARES Act and provided at no cost to schools, which will be able to enroll their K-12 students in Lincoln Learning Solutions' courses, access its learning management system or upload its own. Teachers also will be given access to Lincoln Learning Solutions' vast digital library, which will serve as a resource for searchable content and learning objects. LLS is teaming up with Arkansas Public School Resource Center staff to provide training. Information about Lincoln Learning, including course catalogs, sample course schedules, and teacher training materials and videos can be found here.

Clements said, "We believe that all students can learn anytime, anywhere if given the right supports and we're eager to be a part of that support system for Arkansas' 480,000 students."

contact:
Christina Zarek
[email protected]
(717)805-2337

SOURCE Lincoln Learning Solutions