HispanicBusiness

Only Publisher Recommended in Every Category Customizes Instruction for the State

Places Emphasis on Diverse Cultures, English Learners, and Reading in the Digital Age


SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- The Instructional Materials Advisory Panel (IMAP) of the California Department of Education has recommended to the Curriculum Commission a suite of six comprehensive kindergarten through middle school programs that the nation's leading education publisher Pearson has customized for California to address a range of critical reading issues confronting the state's schools.

Pearson is the only publisher whose materials are being recommended in all five curriculum categories.

Pearson's customized programs represent a continuum of curriculum aligned to California standards from kindergarten through high school. The recommended submissions include an integrated array of instructional materials with embedded intervention and assessment, and digital media, all aligned to Reading First requirements and revised State standards. The offerings are published in identical formats in Spanish and include professional development for teachers.

Pearson's Vice President for California, Vicky Bush, said, "California has identified a new course of action and we have responded by bringing all our expertise and resources to bear. We have taken the challenge seriously by developing exceptional research-based programs tailored specifically for California and the unique needs of our K-12 students and teachers." She added, "We are the only publisher with such a unified and seamless approach to the learning and instruction of reading in California. Pearson's offerings are actually stronger than the sum of our parts because all the programs easily and naturally connect with one another."

The publisher's research-based customizations for California meet new state requirements while addressing the realities of 21st century learning in the nation's most diverse state. Bush noted that Pearson's programs have been infused with new material and concepts specifically relevant for California, contributed by nationally renowned experts who are co-authors for the programs. Among these noted academics are:

-- Dr. Grant Wiggins, whose renowned leadership in curriculum design is revolutionizing learning.

-- Dr. Donald Leu, the leading expert in the "new literacies," and how educators must meet the iPod generation on their turf -- including effective use of the Internet, techniques for reading online, and projects to bring students around the globe together to communicate and learn from each other.

-- Dr. Sharroky Hollie from California State University, the leading expert on urban literacy whose contribution includes a focus on embedding relevant materials into curriculum programs that recognize the cultural differences among California's diverse student population.

-- Dr. Jim Cummins, who leads the Pearson team in ensuring that English learners receive the same high quality education programs as their peers, provides his expertise in literacy development in multilingual school contexts, as well as on the potential roles of technology in promoting language and literacy development.

-- Dr. Connie Juel, professor of education at Stanford University, and expert in the powerful role vocabulary plays in reading comprehension, and in closing the achievement gap.

-- Jon Scieszka, the award-winning children's writer and recently-named Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress, has focused on the needs of boy readers, who as a group are in a crisis and falling behind girls in reading performance.