PreK-12 Market Headlines
AR Renews ASCD PD Partnership
ASCD — Tuesday, June 26, 2012
AETN, ADE Renew Partnership with ASCD Providing Effective Professional Development to Educators across Arkansas
Alexandria, VA (06/26/2012)-The Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) and Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) have renewed their partnership with ASCD to provide effective, digital professional development opportunities for Arkansas educators statewide. Delivered through the ArkansasIDEAS (Internet Delivered Education for Arkansas Schools) professional development website, ASCD's professional development courses cover topics such as Common Core State Standards implementation, differentiated instruction, integrating technology into classroom instruction, and other critical subjects and competencies.
ArkansasIDEAS, the only state-funded comprehensive online professional development resource for educators in the nation, was launched in 2005 as a cooperative endeavor between AETN and ADE. ASCD is the global leader in providing programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner.
"We are proud to announce the renewal of this partnership between AETN, the ADE, and ASCD," AETN Executive Director Allen Weatherly said. "Through their good work in teaching our young people statewide, Arkansas's educators shape the prosperity of our state. They deserve nothing less than the best professional development resources available as they continue to sharpen their skills to meet the evolving needs of today's students."
Arkansas currently requires some of the highest numbers of professional development hours each year to maintain a teaching license, and has the largest comprehensive continuing education portal-including trainings, courses, resources, and assessments-in a cutting-edge, online setting. More than 32,000 registered educators from all regions of the state have completed approximately 460,000 credit hours in IDEAS since its launch.
"ASCD is pleased to continue our partnership with AETN and the ADE," said ASCD CEO and Executive Director Dr. Gene Carter. "We share a common goal of supporting the success of each learner, and ASCD is looking forward to continuing to empower our colleagues in Arkansas to reach that goal."
The professional development courses provided to AETN and the ADE are derived from ASCD's digital PD Online® solution. Since 1996, ASCD has provided innovative and award-winning PD Online courses to educators across the world. The PD Online series incorporates multimedia and high-quality digital content that fits the needs of almost any type and size of learning group, ranging from individual learners to statewide deployments and integration with university programs.
Today some of the largest districts in the United States count PD Online courses as an integral component in their professional development strategy. With the PD Online series, districts and schools can personalize and monitor professional development for individual educators and groups looking to earn college course or professional development credits. Arkansas is the first and only state to offer ASCD's library of award-winning online courses to its educators.
In 2005, the Arkansas legislature passed Act 2318, which created a partnership between ADE and AETN to provide high-quality, online professional development for educators licensed in Arkansas to improve teacher quality as a means to increase student achievement. ArkansasIDEAS is designed to enhance educators' content knowledge and instructional skills.
For more information on PD Online courses or any of ASCD's other programs, products, and services, or to join ASCD, visit www.ascd.org. For more information on AETN, visit www.aetn.org. Licensed educators across Arkansas can access effective professional development content and more at http://ideas.aetn.org.
About ASCD
ASCD is the global leader in developing and delivering innovative programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner. Comprising 150,000 members-superintendents, principals, teachers, professors, and advocates from more than 145 countries-the ASCD community also includes 58 affiliate organizations. The nonprofit's diverse, nonpartisan membership is its greatest strength, projecting a powerful, unified voice to decision makers around the world. To learn more about how ASCD supports educators as they learn, teach, and lead, visit www.ascd.org.
About Arkansas Educational Television Network
The Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) is Arkansas's statewide public television network that enhances lives by providing lifelong learning opportunities for people from all walks of life. AETN delivers local, award-winning productions and classic, trusted PBS programs aimed at sharing Arkansas and the world with viewers. AETN depends on the generosity of Arkansans and the State of Arkansas to continue offering quality programming. For more information, visit www.aetn.org, or follow the AETN blog at www.aetn.org/engage. AETN is broadcast on KETS (Little Rock), KEMV (Mountain View), KETG (Arkadelphia), KAFT (Fayetteville), KTEJ (Jonesboro), and KETZ (El Dorado).
Contact: Stephen Wakefield, ASCD Communications Director, 1-703-575-5764
