Global Literacy submitted a proposal in response to the Arizona RFP ED08-0020
http://www.ade.az.gov/procurement/Opps/
The strength of our unique offering is based on a partnership and synergy between three successful business entities with excellent complementary educational skills and experience, including:
• The Training Place, Inc (an Arizona Minority Small-Business, SBA 8a Certified) http://www.trainingplace.com
• SkillsTutor (a K-12 Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology) http://www.skillstutor.com
• Global Literacy (an Arizona Non-Profit Corporation)
http://www.globalliteracy.com
Our SkillsTutor solution is a true Internet-based solution. It is designed to be ‘Site Based’ for the entire school to address the individual needs of each teacher and student. A district-wide report will be available in 2008 to monitor comparisons of SkillsTutor schools within the scope of this Proposal. This solution is especially helpful as a diagnostic and remediation tool to identify “needs improvement” curriculum areas and to target and teach students at-risk or excelling above grade level. It is most effectively used in classrooms, in computer rooms, in Special Education resource rooms and at home. Educators can draw on SkillsTutor’s 20-year successful history, case studies, and 1,600 online standard-based lessons and activities in areas such as reading, writing, language arts, math, algebra, science and social studies + 2-3 million satisfied users
In addition to SkillsTutor’s excellent curriculum, our team will take advantage of the recent popularity of the ASUS Eee PCs; they are being hailed as the “coolest laptops” around. These small, lightweight laptops have wireless capability, Internet access, simple interfaces, functional applications, and are “kid and teacher” friendly. They are so engaging, portable, and simple to use, they motivate users to have fun learning and discovering new skills.
Regarding professional development, we understand the needs of Arizona schools and recognize the importance of providing educators with techniques, strategies, and products that work. However, we also emphasize the importance of training and supporting how teachers implement this program successfully. The design of our professional development reflects current research on learning theory along with the work of the National Staff Development Council, and the National Educational Technology Standards. In addition, the professional development team with be familiar with and follow the guidelines set by the Arizona Professional Teacher Standards.