Cloud-Based Curriculum Helps Schools Cut Costs, Meet State Teaching Standards

SALT LAKE CITY, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Waterford Institute recently launched its reading curriculum in a new, web-based format designed to help schools reduce their hardware costs and more easily access and use its standards-aligned, research-proven software.

Waterford Reading is a complete language arts curriculum for young learners, including thousands of learning activities, songs and books that cover crucial skills like phonics, vocabulary, writing, oral fluency and more. Used by thousands of school districts, the program automatically tailors instruction to each student's individual learning needs, allowing them to progress at their own speed and ability.

Now, Waterford Institute, a nonprofit education research center, has moved its entire Waterford Reading curriculum online to offer schools a cloud-based delivery option. Waterford Math and Science will also be available in the cloud summer 2014.

"Schools only need a computer and Internet to access Waterford Reading in the cloud – no servers or additional hardware required," Mikkel Storm, vice president of product and marketing for Waterford Institute, said. "This makes the program even more accessible and saves schools significant hardware and maintenance costs."

New product features and changes can now be seamlessly updated overnight without placing an added burden on schools' IT staffs, Storm added, allowing the company to quickly innovate and respond to customer requests.

With the move to the cloud, Waterford Institute also updated its curriculum to be 100 percent aligned with the Common Core State Standards required in most states. The reading program's individual activities and lessons meet Common Core standards as well as its sequencer that organizes how the individualized content is delivered to students.

"New and extensive teaching standards like Common Core can be difficult for schools and teachers to keep up with; our goal is to make it as easy as possible for those who need it," Storm said. "Waterford Reading lets teachers quickly and easily search for lessons aligned with a specific standard, and have confidence knowing the overall curriculum helps children master those standards."

Other improvements include several updates to the reporting system geared toward providing educators with actionable data. Waterford worked directly with administrators and teachers to create reports that are more readable, easier to use and faster to run. One new feature in particular enables a teacher or administrator to view groups of students who are having similar difficulties, helping inform their small group instruction.

Paired with teacher tools such as the new reporting features, Waterford's teacher tool Classroom Advantage and offline materials, Waterford Reading is increasingly used as a core curriculum that is proven effective and meets standards.

To encourage movement to the cloud-based version of the product, Waterford Institute is currently offering Waterford Reading at a discounted price for a one-year subscription, and including free subscriptions to Waterford Math and Science for the 2014-2015 school year – a more than 50 percent total savings.

About Waterford
Waterford Institute is a nonprofit research center that creates personalized cloud-based instruction through award-winning curriculum, content and assessment for children aged Pre-K to 3rd grade. As a nonprofit, Waterford is uniquely focused on providing accessibility, equity and excellence for our youngest learners to position them for a lifetime of learning and success. For more information, visit www.waterford.org or call 801-349-2200.

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SOURCE Waterford Institute