District is Prioritizing Rigorous Curriculum and Flexibility of Instruction As Schools Rebuild From Pandemic Opportunity Losses

MADISON, WI – Today, Open Up Resources and Kiddom announced Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) has selected its top-rated EL Education K-5 Education Language Arts (ELA) curriculum for its 31 elementary schools in support of the district’s efforts to prioritize early literacy and beyond. Open Up Resources, a nonprofit, works to increase equity in education by making the highest quality curriculum accessible to educators, and Kiddom is the first all-in-one education platform for high quality digital curriculum. 

MMSD’s investment will provide its teachers the ability to utilize the ELA curriculum to:

• Share assignments digitally;
• Communicate with students, and deliver personalized feedback on submissions;
• Prioritize student reading proficiency and content knowledge of science and social studies; 
• Leverage a full-service, multi-year professional learning plan from EL Education to support teachers; and
• Access to peer-to-peer communications within Open Up’s K-5 EL Education digital community. 

“MMSD is deeply committed to accelerating the achievement of all our scholars,” said Cynthia Green, MMSD Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. “This rigorous curriculum integrates the experiences of our diverse communities in meaningful and innovative ways. We are excited about this unprecedented level of investment in curriculum for our school district - the largest commitment to literacy in over a decade -  and for its potential to pay tremendous dividends for our future generations of scholars.”

“By moving forward with a high-quality, joyful, engaging curriculum in which students can see themselves and their lived experiences reflected in the rich texts, the Madison Metropolitan School District is meeting this uniquely challenging moment for educators and students alike. Uniting a high-quality curriculum with an accessible digital platform will provide teachers and students across the District's schools with a new framework to eliminate achievement gaps and ensure a brighter future for Wisconsin’s next generation of leaders,” said Jessica Reid Sliwerski, CEO of Open Up Resources. 

“Kiddom believes that a high-quality core curriculum is essential to delivering an outstanding education. Our partnership with Open Up Resources will supply MMSD with the tools they need to implement this high-quality, interactive curriculum and positively impact student outcomes. Including this top-rated ELA curriculum on Kiddom’s digital platform empowers teachers with flexibility on how they use and deliver curriculum, provides actionable insights on curriculum usage and student performance, and simplifies complex workflows to increase student engagement,” said Ahsan Rizvi, CEO of Kiddom.

"Each day we see educators exceeding their highest aspirations, catalyzing remarkable student growth when they have access to a research-based, culturally affirming language arts curriculum. We are honored to work side by side with Madison educators and Open Up Resources to implement our curriculum, paired with aligned professional learning, and to celebrate what students and teachers can do with access to powerful instructional tools,” said Scott Hartl, President and CEO of EL Education, authors of the EL Education K-8 Language Arts curriculum.

ABOUT OPEN UP RESOURCES

Open Up Resources is a 501(c)(3) that exists to increase equity in education by making the highest quality curriculum freely accessible to educators and providing implementation supports to the broadest number of teachers, empowering them to effectively and sustainably improve student outcomes in pre-K-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics. To learn more about Open Up Resources' mission and work, click here.

ABOUT KIDDOM 

Kiddom is the first all-in-one education platform for high-quality digital curriculum. It integrates curriculum management, instruction, assessment, and communication tools into one solution, saving schools valuable time, resources and money. With the flexibility to access and edit curriculum from any location, Kiddom is the only education platform that can effectively support teachers and learners engaging in in-class, blended, hybrid or distance learning scenarios, as well as in the quick pivots between them. Headquartered in San Francisco with an office in New York City, Kiddom is a team of passionate educators, designers, and developers building technology to enable all teachers and learners to unlock their full potential. To learn more, visit https://www.kiddom.co.

ABOUT EL EDUCATION

EL Education is a national nonprofit partnering with K-12 educators to transform public schools and districts into hubs of opportunity for all students to achieve excellent equitable outcomes. EL Education is guided by a vision of education equity embracing the genius in every child and by a reimagined definition of student achievement. EL Education offers research-proven resources and practices, including the acclaimed EL Education K-8 Language Arts curriculum, Core Practices, and aligned professional learning. EL Education was founded in 1991 and currently serves 440,000 students in diverse communities across the country. Learn more at ELEducation.org. 

MADISON METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Madison Metropolitan School District is the second largest school district in Wisconsin and serves over 26,500 students in 52 schools. The district covers approximately 74 square miles including all or part of the cities of Madison and Fitchburg, and the villages of Shorewood Hills and Maple Bluff, and the towns of Blooming Grove, Burke, and Madison.