It takes one to know how to help one.

That is why I became a special education teacher.

Today, I teach 7^th grade at The Lowell School in Queens. I know first-hand what struggling students go through, because I used to be just like them. When I was a kid, there were many times that I hated going to school because I couldn’t ‘get’ the lesson or understand what was happening in class. I was failing, but I didn’t know why.

I started my career in general ed. But I remembered teachers who made it fun for me to learn certain things that just weren’t coming easily. I wanted to do that for other students, so I switched to Special Ed.

My first year as a Special Ed teacher in 2010 was almost overwhelming. I had students on all different grade levels and with a variety of learning styles. Figuring out how to help each of them was a real challenge. Some needed to hear things read aloud; that could be a huge distraction for others. Some might be performing three grade levels above; others were several grades below. Yet they were all in the same 7^th grade class!

For help, I turned to technology -- specifically, the tools from MobyMax. What a lifesaver!

Our school is a 12:1:1 classroom setting, with two teachers per class. All of our students have different learning disabilities, but MobyMax helps each one feel successful.

Award Confers Purple Stamp of Approval for “exceptional and innovative websites and apps”

(Jan 1, 2018) – MobyMax, innovator of the nationally lauded personalized and blended learning curriculum for K-8 students, has received Homeschool Base’s 2018 award for Top 10 Educational Websites in the Multiple Subjects category.

The award is conferred along with Homeschool Base’s Purple Stamp of Approval, a personal endorsement from Homeschool Base and the homeschooling community. This includes independent home educators, teachers, and parents who recommended and nominated MobyMax. Homeschool Base is the internet’s largest volunteer-driven homeschooling website.

(Oct 30, 2017) –  MobyMax, innovator of the nationally applauded personalized and blended learning curriculum for K-8 students, has won two 2017 THE Journal Readers’ Choice Awards. Known for helping students learn twice as fast, MobyMax garnered a Silver Medal in the Favorite Interventions & Remediation Software category and a Platinum Medal in the Favorite Adaptive/ Personalized Learning Tool category. Winners of the awards, which honor outstanding contributions in education, were determined via an online poll of over 1,000 education professionals.

“We are gratified that those on the frontlines of addressing our biggest  instruction and motivation challenges have found MobyMax to be such a worthwhile partner,” said company co-founder Glynn Willett. “Thanks to their feedback and our own commitment to results-driven innovation, we’ve been able to create the most comprehensive all-in-one K-8 offering on the market. Our model enables students to consistently gain more than one full grade level after just 40 hours of work – and at a fraction of the cost of other products.

By Dr. Wayne Kindle | Yankton School District

After more than two years of public meetings, committees, public input, planning, and construction, we will return home to Crane Youngworth Field!

The first home game and first game in the newly renovated facility will be on Sept. 22 for the Pioneer Days Homecoming. The Yankton Bucks will host the Huron Tigers with kickoff at 7 p.m.

The Yankton High School Marching Band and Color Guard will perform “Back From the 80’s” as part of the halftime entertainment. YHS Dance Team will also perform.

We welcome you to come out and cheer on the Bucks to victory!

“A complete cross-curricular product that is
a must for any classroom teacher,” notes one judge.

(Sept 6, 2017) – MobyMax, innovator of the award-winning personalized and blended learning curriculum for K-8 students, has won the 2018 Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom. The award, bestowed by Learning Magazine, recognizes MobyMax for its success in pioneering cutting-edge educational software, compelling digital content, powerful online learning tools, and related technologies that meet the needs of the entire PreK-8 sector.

Teachers’ Choice is the only awards program that is exclusively judged by teachers in the classroom. The teachers who judged MobyMax against other companies widely concluded that MobyMax was not only creative and effective but fun and easy to use for teachers and students alike. Its cross-curricular applications, which allow students from grades K to 8 to fill skill gaps in all subjects, were particularly applauded.

Motivating bored-but-gifted students using some fiery competition – and technology.

GUEST COLUMN | by Christopher Godshall 

There’s a lot of both media and academic attention paid to students with learning difficulties acting as barriers to acquiring knowledge, and rightly so. But teaching gifted and talented students poses its own set of challenges. Higher-achieving students can get bored easily or become impatient if they’re not given material that engages them academically. They can get frustrated if they find the pace in the classroom too slow. They also might yearn for a classroom that is more competitive than the one they’re in. Plus, not meeting these students’ needs for more challenging studies could squander the opportunity to push those students to new, exceptional heights.

As someone who has taught gifted and talented students for 16 years, I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to meet the needs of these pupils in a way that keeps them engaged, their parents informed, and me, as their teacher, at least a few steps ahead of them!

This summer, I turned to an edtech platform for the solution. The lessons I learned from our successes seemed worth sharing as a new school year gets underway.

From Staff Reports | Corsicana Daily Sun

Bethlehem Baptist Church Learning Center is offering weekday and Saturday tutoring to students in need of additional support. Subject areas include Math, Reading, Writing and Study Skills for students in grades third through eighth. The learning center includes access to Corsicana Independent School District student online programs such as Moby Max and I-Station. Tutoring will be open Monday through Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and Saturday as needed.

“We see a need to help students, and we are committed to serving our community in this way,” Rev. Dairy Johnson said.

Tutoring is currently provided by volunteers including: Darlene Allen, George Burrell, Carla Harris, Ellender Johnson, Sherretta Lewis, Laurena Roberts, and Rev. Dairy Johnson.

“We know that when our community works together with our schools, students will achieve at even higher levels. CISD is very appreciative of Rev. Johnson and the volunteers at Bethlehem Baptist Church,” said Dr. Diane Frost, CISD Superintendent.

By Angie R. Lucarini Special to the Gazette 

Hundreds of Niagara Falls students are getting busy this summer — and they’re having fun while they do it.

The 900 or so students — more than ever before — are participating in the Niagara Falls School District’s Extended Learning Programs, created in response to research showing that over summer vacation, students lose too much of what they’ve learned during the school year.

“Ultimately, through the learning and instruction which we’re providing, we aim to avoid ‘summer slide’ or ‘brain drain’ when children do not continue to participate in activities and lessons learned throughout the school year,” said Cathy Sullivan, a coordinator of the extended learning programs.

Sessions are taking place at several elementary schools throughout the district and there is hope that the summer learning is making a difference in kids’ educational success.

“It’s far and away the greatest number of summer offerings ever; our best effort to increase instructional time throughout the year,” said Judie Glaser, community relations director for the district.

Children can lose more than two months of grade level equivalency in math over the summer, North Penn School District cautions

Shared By Justin Heinze (Patch Staff) -  July 31, 2017 5:49 pm ET

LANSDALE, PA — Children can lose more than two months of grade level equivalency in math over the summer, the North Penn School District cautions.

That's why they're working to offer ways to stem "summer learning loss" by encouraging students to practice math during their off months.

Many students have access to the Moby Max website (http://www.mobymax.com/), which their teachers provided during the school year. On the Moby Max site, children are able to access lessons that are designed to match their learning needs. They are also able to practice basic facts. Retaining fact recall over the summer is important in being prepared to move ahead in math during the coming school year, the district said.

They also advised watching math enrichment videos on Youtube and accessing programing on Kids.gov and at the Khan Academy.

The district said the exercises are good for the developing mind of any child regardless of their career path, as they are often about logic and learning to think ahead. North Penn said that future scientists, lawyers, carpenters, and any number of other fields of expertise could benefit from these activities.

Image via North Penn

- Montgomeryville Patch published the original article here.  

There’s Simply “Nothing Like It On The Market,” Notes One Judge

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 27, 2017) – MobyMax, innovator of the award-winning personalized and blended learning curriculum for K-8 students, was named the Best PreK/Early Childhood Learning Solution and Best Cloud-Based Solution of 2017 as part of the annual SIIA CODiE Awards. The awards recognize Mobymax’s unique achievements in developing groundbreaking educational software, digital content, online learning services, and related technologies across the PreK-8 sector. They also implicitly acknowledge MobyMax’s rapid rise to the top of the field, as CODiE Award recipients are known for producing the most innovative education technology products in the U.S. and around the world.

“We are thrilled to be included in this elite group of CODiE Award recipients,” said MobyMax co-founder Glynn Willett. “Moby is made for teachers, and tens of thousands of them have made it no secret how much they love the program. But to be recognized by our professional peers further validates the unique niche our company fills for students, classrooms, and schools.”

“I have not seen anything this comprehensive for PreK or Early Childhood,” noted one judge. “As an all-in-one offering, MobyMax features extensive reporting and data analysis on student learning, plus motivational features kids love, like behavior vibes, contests, and more.” Said another judge, “the designers have thought of it all!”