Education Modified and DC Charter Schools to Put Special Education Online
Special Ed Platform Gives DC Teachers Revolutionary Way to Service Students with Disabilities
BOSTON, July 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Education Modified and the DC Special Education Cooperative announce a partnership, supported by Someone Else's Child and MIT Solve, to streamline workflow and improve virtual special education delivery for 16 additional charter schools in Washington, D.C.
Through this partnership, Co-op member schools can use Education Modified's data and collaborative workflow platform for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year to address a major stumbling block during the COVID-19 school closures: communicating & delivering services to students with special needs in virtual settings.
Now, instead of relying on paper files and other systems that are no longer viable, teams in over 20 Co-op member schools will utilize Education Modified to access data from IEP plans, track progress towards goals, and collaborate in real-time with all team members. "This partnership, the first of its kind for DC Charter Schools, will revolutionize the ways in which educators collaborate in service of students with disabilities," Julie Camerata, Executive Director, DC Special Education Cooperative, shared. "Over 15% of students in Washington DC's public schools are identified as having a disability. With the generous support of Someone Else's Child, we can make a difference for a great many of them."
This unique non-profit and social impact for-profit collaboration represents the approach needed to address the challenges schools and districts across the US face. This model is exactly what MIT Solve, a global marketplace for social impact innovation, aims to forge. Education Modified, one of eight solutions selected for Solve's Teachers & Educators Challenge in 2018, has utilized funding and other support from Solve to expand its efforts to disrupt the status quo of special education in the US.
DC charter schools will now be able to leverage data in ways that are not traditionally prioritized in special education, and communicate to focus on instruction, not compliance. "The generosity of Someone Else's Child allows us to greatly increase our impact in DC for hundreds of teachers and thousands of students," Melissa Corto, CEO & Co-Founder of Educated Modified stated. "Our team is grateful for this type of support. Special education in our current K12 institutions is a complex, systemic equity problem. It takes collaboration from organizations like the Co-op, who at their core focus on these inequities in special ed, as well as gracious contributions from foundations like Someone Else's Child. Especially now in light of the pandemic, we know that education for special populations of students can and must be done better."
About Education Modified: Education Modified provides school teams with an innovative workflow & communication platform to address special needs of students. Founded by two special educators from NYC public schools, the technology streamlines services by reducing paperwork, providing professional learning resources and support to manage data for all students. This increases collaboration and helps teachers focus on improving instruction for the 1 in 5 who learn differently, English Language Learners, students on behavior plans or those in need of other academic and functional supports.
About The DC Special Education Cooperative: The DC Special Education Cooperative (the "Co-op") is a 501c3, grassroots co-operative organization governed by charter representatives and works directly with over 50 charter schools in Washington D.C. The Co-op was founded in 1998 by charter school leaders, teachers, special education experts, and local chartering authorities to close the achievement gap for students with disabilities through innovation, professional learning opportunities, and systems support. This enables collaboration between schools, increases each school's capacity to comply with special education laws and regulations, and drive high-quality implementation.
About Someone Else's Child: Based in Boston, MA, the mission of Someone Else's Child is to help underserved children and teens by sponsoring programs and initiatives to support and enhance their lives throughout the U.S. and in Africa. Areas of emphasis include education (technology solutions), arts & music, nutrition & health, mentoring, economic disparity, social injustice, homelessness, and collaborative efforts with other similarly-minded non-profits.
SOURCE Education Modified
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https://www.educationmodified.com
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