New Georgia Web Site Focuses on Education

Walch Education has just launched http://www.walchgeorgia.com/. The new site focuses on our programs and partnerships in the Peachtree State.

We've partnered with many of the leading districts in Georgia, including Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Lumpkin counties. The site highlights some of our work with those districts, and the resulting programs.

Want to know more? Then you should talk to Andrea Newman, our Regional Partnership Manager in Georgia. She's at (404) 543-2478, anewman@walch.com.

Lexile Measures Make the Difference in Walch's New Georgia English/Language Arts Program

Our Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, has been very popular in the Peachtree State. Now, Georgia educators have more evidence of the program's strength.

Metametrics, a leading educational measurement company, has applied its Lexile Framework for Reading to the 92 reading passages in the program. The average measure, 887L, places the majority of those reading passages squarely within a 9th-grade reading ability.

In other words? As Walch's Director of Education, Susan Graham, notes, "This demonstrates that the Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, is appropriate for a range of abilities. We're supporting Georgia educators with the data, and assurance, they need, that this program works well in diverse high school classrooms."

In Georgia, students receive a Lexile score along with their regular score for the CRCT Reading or GHSGT English/Language Arts tests. Educators using the Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, can now see just how each reading passage in the program matches student reading ability.

By the way, the Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, was recently cited as a "Recommended Learning Resource" by the Georgia Department of Education.

Getting Ready for the New York Regents Exams - Something New

If you're a student or educator in New York State, you know all about the Regents Examinations, or as they're usually called, "the Regents," a series of comprehensive high school exams.

In our opinion, too many programs prepare students for the Regents with short-term test-prep drills. Result: students who get a blip of insight into how to take the test, but who lack a true understanding of the material and the skills thathelp them interpret and think through what they've learned.

That's why we developed the Academic Support Program for English Language Arts, NY State Regents Prep. Yes, it has assessments and answer keys modeled after the Regents Exam, to give students practice. But it also has:

• More than 80 hours of correlated instruction


• More than 40 lessons correlated to IRA/NCTE Standards for English Language Arts


• Strategies for direct instruction, differentiatd approaches, alternative assessments, and extending learning

And the whole program comes packaged in an easy-to-use, completely reproducible 3-ring binder. Throw in a CD-ROM with all of the content on a PDF, and you can see why the program is a boon for New York educators. Want to find out more? Call us at (800) 341-6094, or email customerservice@walch.com.

Walch Team Grows with Maryland Hire

We've added to our team with Rorye Jordon, our new Regional Partnership Manager in the Maryland/Virginia/DC area. Rorye lives in Maryland, and she'll work with existing accounts and new partnerships.

Rorye is a find, and we're very lucky to have her aboard. She has been a teacher in the Baltimore City Public School System and has taught at Baltimore City Community College. She's also worked as Regional Education Quality Manager for Education Station, a partner of Sylvan Learning.


Among the programs Rorye will be focusing on in Maryland will be:

• Maryland Algebra/Data Analysis


• Maryland Academic Support Program for English II HSA Mastery


• Maryland Academic Support Program for Biology HSA Recovery
  

If you're a teacher or district administrator in Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia, and you're looking for affordable, flexible ways to boost student success, talk to Rorye. She's at (443) 255-8125, rjordon@walch.com.

3 for 3 ain't bad!

Our Director of Education, Susan Graham, just returned from Washington, D.C., site last week of the annual conference of the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP). This, our industry group, gives out annual awards for the "best of the best" published materials for schools. They're known as "Distinguished Achievement Awards."

We jokingly told Susan before she left that she shouldn't "return without any metal." Well, she didn't disappoint. Walch Education had three books nominated in three separate categories -- and we won for each of our entries! They are:

1) Our Academic Support Program (ASP) for Mathematics (in the category of Curriculum Packages for Mathematics, grades 9-12) http://www.walch.com/product/2157

2) Building Math (in the category of Currriculum Packages for Mathematics, grades 6-8) http://www.walch.com/product/2137

3) Our Academic Support Program for English Language Arts (in the category of Curriculum Packages for Reading & Language Instruction, grades 9-12) http://www.walch.com/product/2106

No, it may not be quite the same as receiving an Oscar or Tony, but it nevertheless makes us awfully proud. These are materials we created in close consultation with educators, they have been extremely successful in the field -- and now we have the kudos of our professional peers, as well.

Susan tells us there were photos taken in Washington, with her holding the three awards...we'll find those and post them, too.