Rural Minnesota School District Transforms Student Achievement With Perspective From Pearson

Rural Minnesota School District Transforms Student Achievement With Perspective From Pearson

Educators Reach Every Student With Individualized Learning Roadmaps

Bloomington, Minn. (PRWEB) February 4, 2009 -- Meeting the academic needs of every student is no small task for Onamia Public Schools, a rural district in central Minnesota. With a population of 750 students residing across a large geographic area, a free/reduced lunch rate of nearly 70 percent and no public library within the district boundaries, providing every student with targeted resources seemed nearly impossible until the district discovered Perspective (http://www.pearsonperspective.com) ™, an online remediation and enrichment tool from Pearson that ties assessment to instruction.

Perspective provides students, families and educators with a personalized roadmap to student improvement through targeted resources based on student test scores. It helps families understand how students are performing, helps educators prepare for their classes and details what to do to help students succeed. The Minnesota Department of Education provides access to Perspective for Minnesota students, families and educators as part of its efforts to encourage academic excellence for all students.

Perspective's Learning Locator™ gives Onamia students learning materials scientifically selected to help them succeed. Each student receives a unique code on his or her state assessment report, which provides access to Perspective's online resources that are targeted to meet individual learning needs. Students can access explanations, instructions, activities and practice quizzes focused on the state's benchmarks. They can work through the activities and learning tools on their own or at the direction of a teacher or family member.

"Onamia Public Schools is a great example of how school districts are using Perspective to make the connection between student assessment results and learning needs," said Douglas Kubach, president and CEO, Assessment and Information, Pearson. "With this powerful Web-based tool, teachers have a way to individualize instruction that is both easy and effective."

Some teachers at Onamia are taking advantage of Perspective's Assignment Sheet feature (http://www.pearsonperspective.com), which allows teachers to address specific needs throughout the school year. Teachers review and select state-aligned learning resources from the available content libraries and then create an assignment sheet for distribution to students on paper or electronically.

As educators align standards to their curriculum, instruction and assessment, they are able to use Perspective tools and resources to support state learning goals seamlessly. "They're excited to know there's this resource available to them that's aligned to the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments II (MCA-II)," said Meg Litts, the district's professional development and curriculum specialist.

With easy access from any computer, Onamia students can use Perspective to stay on top of their studies when they're home sick, on vacation or away from the classroom. When students are leaving for a school break, teachers can assign them games or activities that will help build particular skills.

In addition, Perspective is used in Onamia's afterschool programs. "It's a great resource during unstructured time. The teachers in our afterschool programs can guide the students as they go online and bridge the connection between the classroom and after school," said Litts.

"Having teachers understand the alignment process is golden," she added, "because it helps them see the larger picture - and they're sharing best practices."

More information about Perspective and a complete case study featuring Onamia Public Schools are available at http://www.pearsonperspective.com/.

About Onamia Public Schools

Onamia Public Schools serves 750 students hailing from a wide geographic area across central Minnesota, approximately 90 miles north of Minneapolis/St. Paul. The district includes the Early Childhood Family Education Center, Onamia Elementary School, Onamia Secondary School, the Kokesh Area Learning Center alternative school, as well as the Mille Lacs Academy residential treatment program.

About Pearson

Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the global leader in education and education technology, reaches and engages today's digital natives with effective and personalized learning, as well as dedicated professional development for their teachers. This commitment is demonstrated in the company's investment in innovative print and digital education materials for preK through college, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher professional development, career certification programs, and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry. The company's respected brands include Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, Addison Wesley, Benjamin Cummings, PEMSolutions, Stanford 10, SuccessNet, MyLabs, PowerSchool, SuccessMaker and many others. Pearson's comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student at every level of education. Pearson's commitment to education for all is supported by the global philanthropic initiatives of the Pearson Foundation. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. For more information, go to www.pearson.com.

###

Contact Information LISA WOLFE

Pearson

http://www.pearsonperspective.com

773-227-1049

Adam Gaber

212-641-6118