P.S. 69 teachers began training this month on Time To Know, the first complete, teacher-driven digital curriculum designed specifically for today's technology-intensive classrooms
Public School 69 – The New Vision School, an 87-year-old school in the Bronx surrounded by single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings, has plenty of experience with technology. But this month the school catapulted to the forefront of New York's educational technology cutting edge as the first public school in the state to introduce its teachers to a new concept emerging in K-12 education: the digital teaching platform.
This June, 12 teachers from P.S. 69 participated in a comprehensive professional development program to introduce the Time To Know digital teaching platform to their fourth and fifth grades classes this fall. Time To Know is a complete, interactive curriculum system designed specifically for today's one-to-one computing classrooms. The digital teaching platform empowers teachers to easily manage instruction, individualize learning, assess mastery in real time, and provide immediate feedback to students. Designed around guided constructivist principles, Time To Know's digital comprehensive curriculum helps students build 21st century skills, including problem-solving skills, higher order thinking, and cooperative learning to prepare them for high stakes tests and the future.
Taking a bold step to create a "new vision" for New York classrooms, P.S. 69 – The New Vision School plans to use Time To Know to transform teaching and learning in math and English language arts. Of course, P.S. 69 is no stranger to complete transformation. When Alan D. Cohen arrived as principal in 2003, the school was on the verge of being taken over by the state due to poor student performance in mathematics. Under Cohen's leadership over the last seven years, the number of students performing at or above the proficient level on the New York State standardized tests has jumped 50 percentage points in mathematics and 40 percentage points in English language arts.
"When your school test scores are in the mid-90s, it's difficult to maintain and improve upon that level of performance. But when I saw Time To Know, I knew this was a tool to bring my school to the next level. A key benefit of the program is that it allow teachers' individual personalities and teaching styles to shine," said Cohen. "My teachers are thrilled with the professional development they've received. The Time To Know staff members are very knowledgeable about the standards for New York City and for the state, and how to meaningfully connect the standards with curriculum and assessment to improve student achievement."
Among Cohen's goals for Time To Know are to increase the level of differentiation in the classroom, to strengthen students' comprehension, and to improve student performance. "If you look at the demographics and poverty level in our school community, the statistics say our children should be failing," he said. "My job is to level the playing field to make sure the children here get the same opportunities as the children in a rich suburban area. Time To Know will allow us to provide targeted instruction and support to our students, with a standards-based curriculum that scaffolds learning for children who aren't achieving proficiency and provides enrichment for children who are."
In addition to P.S. 69, 20 New York City elementary schools participating in the Innovation Zone (iZone) program will launch Time To Know during the 2010-11 school year. The teachers implementing Time To Know will participate in professional learning with instructional coaches over the summer.
About Public School 69 – The New Vision School
P.S. 69 is situated in the Clason Point section of the Bronx. It is a campus school with three buildings that serve approximately 570 students. The main building, built in 1923, houses grades 3, 4, and 5; the Mini school houses grades 1 and 2; and the Annex houses grade 2. All classes in the school are heterogeneously grouped. The school's mission is to create a community of lifelong learners in pursuit of academic excellence.
About Time To Know
Introduced in Israel in 2007 and launched in the United States this school year, Time To Know is a complete, interactive curriculum system designed specifically for today's one-to-one computing classrooms. By creating a new educational product category, the Digital Teaching Platform, Time To Know is helping school districts improve the quality of teaching and learning, while fully realizing the vision of one-to-one computing. For more information, please visit www.timetoknow.com or call 888-559-6560.
Contacts:
Eicher Communications Inc.
Leslie Eicher, 314-965-1776
Leslie@EicherCommunications.com
