XanEdu announces partnership with Stand for Children, the University of Michigan, and Great First Eight

(summary: XanEdu partners with Stand for Children Leadership Center to provide publishing and classroom set fulfillment for new Great First Eight Curriculum, a project headquartered at the University of Michigan)

LIVONIA, Mich., May 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- XanEdu, Inc., a provider of education content and curriculum services for K-12 and higher education, announces partnerships with the University of Michigan and Stand for Children Leadership Center to provide support services around the instructional materials required within the groundbreaking OER Great First Eight Curriculum. With development headquartered at the University of Michigan, supported by philanthropic funding, the Great First Eight Curriculum is a groundbreaking, full-day, open educational resource (OER) curriculum being developed for children birth through eight. 

The development project is led by renowned early literacy expert Dr. Nell K. Duke, with nationally lauded co-directors Dr. Claire Vallotton for infant through preschool and Dr. Marisha Humphries for preschool through grade two. Named one of the most influential education scholars in the U.S. in EdWeek, Dr. Duke has assembled a diverse team of among the greatest minds in early education and a vast network of partners, including XanEdu, to develop, pilot, and implement the curriculum. Designed for classrooms with a number of children from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, Great First Eight provides children with the education they need to thrive and create a more just and caring society.

XanEdu will provide the critical support of copyright research, content licensing, book publishing, sourcing instructional materials, print production and fulfillment services along with district order management and fulfillment support.    

"This is an exciting partnership for the Scholarus Learning portfolio of companies to partner with organizations doing great work for children from underrepresented groups," said Brett Costello, Chief Business Development Officer for Scholarus. "XanEdu's expertise in OER, publishing, and fulfillment at national scale uniquely positions us to produce and deliver these exceptional materials into the hands of teachers and students in an efficient and cost-effective way. We are thrilled to be part of Great First Eight's launch.'

"Partnerships, like the one with XanEdu, are critical to the successful implementation of Great First Eight" said Nell Duke, Executive Director of Stand for Children's Center for Early Literacy Success and Professor at the University of Michigan. "XanEdu's unique suite of solutions allowed us to quickly and efficiently provide the materials that schools need to implement Great First Eight successfully. XanEdu will continue to work with Great First Eight as we expand implementation to other age/grade levels to scale highly effective curriculum materials."

To learn more about the Great First Eight Curriculum, visit www.greatfirsteight.org. 

To learn more about how XanEdu's services for content creators and business partnerships can benefit your organization, visit www.xanedu.com.

To learn more about Stand For Children and their mission to support education and equity, visit https://stand.org/.

To learn more about Innovation Partnerships and other technologies developed by UM researchers, visit https://innovationpartnerships.umich.edu/.

ABOUT XANEDU
XanEdu is a provider of educational content and curriculum services for K-12 and higher education. XanEdu spreads the knowledge of innovative content ideas by offering custom development and fulfillment services across K-12 and Higher Education.  Our experts partner with educators on each unique project to build and deliver engaging print and digital custom solutions and courseware content that addresses curriculum gaps and key initiatives for K-12 and Higher Education leaders while maintaining our commitment to affordability and accessibility for all learners. XanEdu is part of the Scholarus Learning portfolio of companies headquartered in Livonia, MI.  Please visit www.xanedu.com to learn more.

ABOUT SCHOLARUS LEARNING
Scholarus Learning is a portfolio of companies serving the K-12 and higher education markets.  Scholarus offers educators an industry-leading range of products and services in key areas of instructional systems design and school improvement consulting, surveys and diagnostics, content customization, and publishing and distribution. The Scholarus Learning portfolio includes XanEdu, Education Elements, Tripod and PLC Associates.  Together, Scholarus companies serve more than 1,700 schools in over 350 districts along with thousands of colleges and universities in all 50 states.  Our products and services impact more than 4 million students each year.  For more information, please visit www.scholarus.com.

ABOUT GREAT FIRST EIGHT
Developed by an extraordinary group of renowned researchers, teachers, and other experts, the Great First Eight Curriculum is fully research- and standards-aligned, comprehensive, and strengths-based. Designed for classrooms with a number of children from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, Great First Eight provides children with the education they need to thrive and create a more just and caring society.  Please visit greatfirsteight.org to learn more.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
A top-ranked public university, the University of Michigan has a tradition of excellence in research, learning and teaching, sports and the arts, and more. The School of Education and Innovation Partnerships, a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research, have been assisting the Great First Eight development team and XanEdu Inc. to increase the impact of this project. Please visit https://innovationpartnerships.umich.edu/ to learn more.

ABOUT STAND FOR CHILDREN LEADERSHIP CENTER
Stand for Children is a unique catalyst for educational equity and racial justice, to create a brighter future for us all.  Please visit https://stand.org/ to learn more.

SOURCE XanEdu Publishing, Inc.