Latest news with #studentdata
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District Enhances Educators' Ability To Interpret Student Data and Improve Achievement Through New Partnership
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 27, 2025 /3BL/ - In a first of its kind agreement, New Jersey's West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District (WWP) today announced a new partnership with Otus, the leading K-12 assessment, data, and insights solution, and Discovery Education, the creators of essential PreK-12 learning solutions used in classrooms around the world. Through this collaboration, Otus and Discovery Education are providing new resources that help WWP organize student data into actionable insights and enhance district educators' ability to interpret that data and make informed, strategic decisions that improve achievement. Located in Central New Jersey's Mercer County, WWP is a PreK-12 public school district that educates over 9,300 students and employs over 1,300 staff members in 10 schools across the West Windsor and Plainsboro Townships. Building upon their tradition of excellence, WWP's mission is to empower all learners to thoughtfully contribute to a diverse and changing world with confidence, strength of character, and love of learning. To enhance the district's ability to collect, read, and react to student assessment data, WWP's team sought a digital solution that offered unparalleled insight into student performance. In addition, school administrators sought one resource that would provide both educators and families the tools and insights needed to support student success. Following a careful review of available solutions, WWP selected the Otus platform provided through Discovery Education. Through the Otus platform, WWP educators will: DreamBox Math by Discovery Educationhost of improvementsindependently proven According to Allan Johnson, WWP's Supervisor of Technology, Training, & Media Sources, 'The addition of Otus to the district tech stack improves our educators' ability to easily pull and analyze achievement data and then adjust instruction to improve student outcomes. We look forward to deploying this new resource districtwide.' WWP educators using Otus will receive dedicated professional development from Otus' team of professional learning experts. Through these interactive professional development sessions, participants will learn best practices for integrating their new digital resources into instruction. Effective professional learning increases student engagement and supports the continued academic development of all students. 'Discovery Education is thrilled to continue to support the students and teachers of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District through its unique collaboration with Otus,' said Tori Byrd, Discovery Education's Manager of Educational Partnerships. 'As the first school system nationwide to leverage the unique partnership between Otus and Discovery Education to combine high-quality learning solutions and state-of-the-art data analytics, West Windsor-Plainsboro is setting a new bar for innovation in this space.' To learn about how Otus and Discovery Education have collaborated to support student achievement, visit For more information about Otus, visit and stay connected to Otus on social media through X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. For more information about Discovery Education, visit and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. ### About Otus Otus, an award-winning edtech platform, empowers educators to maximize student performance with comprehensive solutions for K12 assessment, data, and insights. Committed to student achievement and educational equity, Otus combines student data with powerful tools that provide educators, administrators, and families with the insights they need to make a difference. Built by teachers for teachers, Otus creates efficiencies in data management, assessments, and progress monitoring to help educators focus on what matters most—student success. Today, Otus partners with school districts nationwide to create informed, data-driven learning environments. Learn more at About Discovery Education Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art, PreK-12, digital solutions support learning wherever it takes place. Through award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and strategic alliances, Discovery Education helps educators deliver powerful learning experiences that engage all students and support higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Through partnerships with districts, states, and trusted organizations, Discovery Education empowers teachers with essential edtech solutions that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and accelerate learning. Explore the future of education at Contact Mike Peterson Otus Phone: 651-307-9251 Email: [email protected] Stephen Wakefield Discovery Education Phone: 202-316-6615 Email: [email protected] Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Discovery Education
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
Sumter County School District created 'shell schools' to boost school grade, increase funding
A state investigation found that the Sumter County School District falsified student data to boost some schools' scores. The state says this happened while former Superintendent Richard Shirley was leading the district. In a statement posted on the district's Facebook, current Superintendent Logan Brown called the previous leadership's alleged actions 'a deliberate and unethical attempt to manipulate school performance metrics at the expense of our students.' The 53-page report from the Florida Department of Education's Office of Inspector General says the district moved approximately 200 low-performing students out of classrooms in their zoned school and into virtual classes. The investigation found that in some cases, the district never notified parents. The state says it received a tip back in November 2023. The tipster claimed the Sumter County School District 'falsified student data and reporting' and created 'shell schools' to remove low-performing students from school grades in order to increase funding from the state. The so-called shell schools were virtual programs known as SOAR. The report says between 2016 and 2021, roughly 200 students were taken out these 4 Sumter County Schools: Wildwood Elementary, Wildwood Middle High, South Sumter Middle, and Webster Elementary. The report says Wildwood Elementary achieved a 'B grade' for the 2016/17 school year, but the school would have scored a 'C grade' if the district didn't remove low-performing students. The report says that former Superintendent Shirley and former Assistant Superintendent Deborah Moffitt 'provided and approved the instruction to the district to withdraw low-performing SOAR students from their traditional zoned schools and enroll them in virtual school. However, former Superintendent Shirley states in the report that SOAR was intended to help students. He said the improved school grade was not the purpose of SOAR, but it was a 'side benefit.' Shirley retired last year shortly after the state launched an investigation into the district. Current Superintendent Brown released a statement calling the alleged actions 'serious misconduct by the previous leadership.' Brown is set to speak more about the investigation and the district's plan moving forward at a news conference Monday morning. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- CTV News
Student info stolen in PowerSchool data breach not deleted despite ransom being paid: TDSB
Canada's largest school board has informed its staff and students that some of their personal information stolen during a cyberattack late last year remains in the possession of the hackers, even after a ransom was paid. On Wednesday, in a letter to parents, guardians, and staff, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) provided the update on the PowerSchool data breach, which occurred between Dec. 22 and 28, 2024. PowerSchool is a cloud-based program used by the TDSB and other GTA school boards to store student and staff information. The TDSB said PowerSchool confirmed to the board that they paid ransom hoping that the stolen data gets deleted. 'As with any such incident, there was a risk that the threat actors would not honour their commitment to delete the stolen data, despite assurances provided to PowerSchool. Earlier this week, TDSB was made aware that the data was not destroyed,' the board wrote in the letter. 'We appreciate that this news may be unsettling and understand the concern this may cause. We remain committed to working closely with PowerSchool, law enforcement and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario to provide support in any way we can.' The TDSB has said that personal student information dating back to 1985 was affected by the breach, including names, dates of birth, gender, health card numbers, home addresses, home phone numbers, and school emails. If students provided medical information to document an allergy, illness, or condition, it was also likely affected by the breach, the TDSB said. Staff names, employee numbers, and school email addresses were also stolen during the attack. The TDSB added that the personal numbers and home addresses of about 350 staff members could have been acquired by hackers. The school board noted that financial or banking information as well as social insurance numbers were not stored in the system, thus were not stolen. During a technical briefing in January, a PowerSchool official said an unauthorized actor was able to hack into the system and download data through compromised credentials. With files from CTV Toronto's Alex Arsenych
