A charter school success story. Inspired by the mission-driven work at ECO (K-8), we teamed up with the EdSurge Solutions Studio to capture the reasons behind the school’s move to digital curriculum, and what this is already unlocking for every member of their learning community: leaders, teachers, and most importantly students. Watch the video below.
ECO, a public charter school serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade, is a special kind of school.
You first see it when you pass the student garden on your way to the school entrance — an oasis in the middle of the bustling business district of Camden, NJ. You hear it when you step through the front doors and receive a cheerful greeting from the front desk. And you can even feel the sense of community and excitement during teacher orientation, as veteran teachers jump to help a new teacher find her bearings.
Over the past several years, ECO students have consistently scored higher on tests, both locally and nationally. Yet, while ECO acknowledges the tests are important tools, “we aim higher” is their stance on standardized testing and well — all matters, really.
The Need for Digital Curriculum
When you speak to ECO’s Founder and Head of School Dr. Antoinette C. Dendtler, and Principal Widelene Desarmes, you get a true sense of how committed ECO’s leaders are to their cause of measuring what matters and doing what’s really best for their learning community.
So it’s no surprise that when they sought to improve their curriculum for the upcoming school year, they looked for a digital solution that would improve — not hinder — their teachers’ and students’ workflow. Guiding their search were three key drivers.
3 Reasons ECO Charter Decided to Move to Digital Curriculum
As you’ll see in the video below, there are plenty of reasons ECO’s leaders decided to make the move to digital. The top three are:
- Meeting kids (and teachers!) where they’re at with Chromebooks. There is a general move away from paper at ECO due to textbook costs and low visibility on how curriculum engages students. But perhaps the biggest driver for ECO is that most of their students and teachers are digital natives — and it’s good to meet them where they want to spend their time. So naturally, when Dendtler and Desarmes found out that Kiddom is partnering with their math curriculum provider Open Up Resources the move made that much more sense.
- Everything is housed in one place. Educators today use a lot of apps, and this makes data assessment… nearly impossible. But when you have a one stop shop that connects all your tools in one place, you’re spending less time collecting data, and more time turning insights into
action! Which brings us to the third and final reason: - Data-driven instruction. The leaders at ECO are driven to measure what matters, and this includes competency levels, student engagement, school-wide curricular trends, and which supplemental materials are used for personalized instruction. Desarmes can now quickly prepare for meetings with teachers, and teachers and students can both see how students are doing in real time and what the next steps are.
So what brought them to choose Kiddom? Hear it in their own words in a new video by EdSurge Solutions Studio.
Watch Digital Curriculum for Charter School Success here:
Kiddom seamlessly connects the most critical aspects of teaching and learning on one platform.
For the first time, educators can share and manage digital curriculum, differentiate instruction, and assess student work in one place. Learners can take assessments online, see student performance data with the click of a button, and teachers have the insight and tools they need to create individual learning paths.
Ready to bring digital curriculum to your school or district?
Connect with us in a 15-minute meeting to learn more about available pre-packaged curriculum, and how the Kiddom education platform can support your learning community.
