CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., April 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) instrument by CaseNEX is partnering with the Wisconsin CESA Statewide Network and CESA Purchasing to offer Wisconsin school districts the opportunity to move forward with the state required early literacy screening with ease and added incentives.
Since 2012, every school district in Wisconsin has been required by state law to administer an early literacy screener in grades 4K through second. With the formation of this partnership, districts will be able to renew their contract to use PALS in the 2016-17 school year through CESA Purchasing. CESA Purchasing will launch this new opportunity on April 4 and will begin taking orders for the PALS Premier package. PALS Premier contains all of the components Wisconsin districts have been using since the implementation of PALS in Wisconsin in 2012.
In addition to the PALS Premier offering, the agreement provides Wisconsin school districts with access to Baseline Edge, a leading visual analytics tool, for no additional charge. Districts will be able to view student data from PALS and student demographic information from a district's student information system via the virtual data wall. Teachers and administrators will be able to analyze data using powerful sorting, filtering and grouping tools to help determine instructional plans for students.
Another value-added component of the partnership is PALS professional development offered at CESA locations around the state. Districts who choose PALS Premier through CESA Purchasing will be invited to these PALS professional development sessions free of charge. These sessions, offered throughout the school year, will provide timely and valuable development for teachers interested in using literacy strategies and data to improve student outcomes.
Both parties emphasized the benefits for Wisconsin school districts renewing their PALS contract through CESA Purchasing. "We are excited to continue the statewide partnership between Wisconsin and PALS and to offer valuable new insights into reading readiness. We applaud the leadership of the CESA Statewide Network and CESA Purchasing for ensuring the literacy of every child in Wisconsin," said Michael Williamson, CEO of CaseNEX.
Jesse Harness, CESA Statewide Commissioner, said of the partnership, "Wisconsin CESAs, in partnership with PALS, are proud to offer this high-quality early literacy screener through CESA Purchasing. It's a great opportunity for our districts to receive a great price while also receiving the value-added support needed to effectively administer and utilize the results."
More information about this partnership can be found at the CESA Purchasing website at http://www.cesapurchasing.org/pals.
About PALS
The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) by IO Education was developed by Marcia Invernizzi, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education through Virginia's Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI). Since 1997, PALS has served as the statewide screening tool for Virginia and is used in all 50 states as well as many foreign countries for early literacy identification and intervention.
About CESA Purchasing
CESA Purchasing is a statewide WI cooperative that works with local and national vendors to provide contracts to K12 schools, libraries, technical colleges, universities, municipalities and other non-profit educational entities. By combining purchasing power, CESA Purchasing makes it easy for schools and organizations to obtain substantial discounts on a wide variety of educational products
Media Contact:
PALS
Nancy Walsh-Boeder, 608-206-7410
[email protected]
CESA Purchasing
Cynthia Holt, 262-473-1470
[email protected]
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SOURCE CaseNEX
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