Sesame Workshop Partners With Leading Educational Publishing Company, Teaching Strategies®, to Bring Sesame Street Resources Into Preschool Classrooms

NEW YORK, May 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, and Teaching Strategies, the Bethesda, Maryland based educational company that publishes The Creative Curriculum^® and Teaching Strategies GOLD^®, announced a multi-year partnership to develop a series of educational offerings for the preschool classroom using the proven content of Sesame Street.  Over the next five years, Sesame Workshop and Teaching Strategies will create multiple innovative products for both the home and school and expect their initial offering to pilot in the fall of 2013.

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High-quality early learning experiences at home and in school provide the foundation for children's future academic success. From birth to age five, children are making giant developmental strides, more than at any other time in life. During this critical window, education is the key to unlocking their potential.

Over the years, Sesame Street has improved learning outcomes for the millions of children viewing the show, but the United States is still facing an educational crisis.  Studies show that one in three children who arrive at school are simply not ready[i].  Today's kids are spending more time in preschool and other child-care settings, and less time at home. Therefore, Sesame Street is partnering with Teaching Strategies to bring its proven educational media to the classroom.  For 25 years, Teaching Strategies has helped early childhood educators across the country plan and implement content-rich, developmentally appropriate programs that support active learning and promote children's progress in all developmental areas.   

"Our goal is to surround kids with learning opportunities wherever they are," said Tom Ascheim, Chief Strategy Officer at Sesame Workshop and EVP of Sesame Learning. "We will be using the power and appeal of Sesame Street content to connect homes and classrooms, coordinating the efforts of teachers and families, and working to achieve measurable gains for children. There, we'll continue to do what we've done so effectively for over four decades – marry education and engagement to teach kids."

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Sesame Workshop, an organization that shares our philosophy about the critical importance of early childhood education and our commitment to providing early childhood educators, children, and their families with research-based, high-quality content," said Diane Trister Dodge, Founder and President of Teaching Strategies. "We want to do everything we can to support the essential work of teachers and make learning engaging and meaningful for all children."

Sesame Workshop and Teaching Strategies will be working closely together on the development of new resources for the early childhood classroom and for involving families in children's early learning experiences. "We look forward to strengthening our comprehensive product line with engaging, proven educational media content that supports intentional teaching and meaningful learning and that will better prepare children for school success," said Andrea Valentine, Chief Operating Officer of Teaching Strategies.

Teaching Strategies is the leading provider of early education resources in the country, with The Creative Curriculum® used in over 100,000 classrooms across the country and nearly 1.1 million children assessed annually with Teaching Strategies GOLD®.

Learn more about the importance of early childhood education here.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children's television programming with the landmark Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 150 countries, and other acclaimed shows including The Electric Company, to help bridge the literacy gap. Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and resilience. Other initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.

About Teaching Strategies

Teaching Strategies provides the most innovative and effective curriculum, assessment, professional development, and family connection resources to programs serving children from birth through kindergarten.  With ground-breaking solutions and a strong belief that a child's first 6 years form a critical foundation for school success, Teaching Strategies has been an advocate for the early education community for over 25 years.  Teaching Strategies consistently expands their product offerings to include award-winning products like The Creative Curriculum for Preschool® and widely-adopted assessment solutions like Teaching Strategies GOLD®.  To learn why thousands of early childhood programs and many states choose to partner with Teaching Strategies to help ensure children's success in school and in life, visit www.teachingstrategies.com. 

[i] Ackerman, D., & Barnett, W.S. (2005). "Prepared for kindergarten: What does "readiness" mean?" New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University.

SOURCE Teaching Strategies, LLC