California’s Val Verde Unified School District Announces New Collaboration with Discovery Education Supporting Transition to Next Generation Science Standards Stephen Wakefield, Discovery Education240-662-5563, stephen_Wakefield@discovery.com – Discovery Education’s Award-Winning Science Techbook and Streaming Plus to Empower Educators to Enhance District’s Science Curriculum- Silver Spring, Md. (September 6, 2017) – California’s Val Verde Unified School District (VVUSD), today announced a new collaboration with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms. Through this new partnership, VVUSD educators will support the transition to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by integrating Discovery Education’s NGSS-aligned Science Techbook™, as well as Streaming Plus™, into everyday science instruction districtwide, creating exciting digital science lessons that will ignite the curiosity of all students. VVUSD’s new partnership with Discovery Education supports the school system’s commitment to rigorously implementing the NGSS in all district science classrooms. The implementation of the NGSS empowers VVUSD’s educators to actively engage students in scientific and engineering practices and apply crosscutting concepts to science instruction that help deepen student understanding of the core ideas in these fields. In addition, VVUSD’s new relationship with Discovery Education helps the district meet their goal of maximizing and leveraging their technology-forward classrooms to promote a culture of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) education. Through this interdisciplinary approach to learning, VVUSD’s educators will contribute to national efforts to produce life-long learners who are not only prepared to succeed in the global workforce but also responsible, contributing citizens able to function in a culturally diverse society. Discovery Education’s new NGSS-aligned Science Techbook fully supports the instructional shifts required by the new standards, embraces the philosophy of three-dimensional learning, and is designed to help educators adapt their classroom practice to meet the standards. In addition to content chosen to directly support the standards, the NGSS Model Lessons within the new Techbook reflect the interconnectedness of the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) and Cross-Cutting Concepts (CCC) and illustrate what these mean in practice for educators. With the NGSS-aligned Science Techbook, students will become immersed in the work of scientists and engineers, developing their own scientific explanations by a variety of activities such as exploring the overarching themes of science, asking questions and making claims, and identifying the cross-cutting connections between sciences. The Science Techbooks series also includes valuable STEM resources as well. STEM Project Starters encourage students to connect math, technology, and engineering to their understanding of science concepts to produce creative solutions to real world problems. In addition, the STEM In Action resources help students connect their work to STEM careers, which promotes a clearer understanding of how skills used in school can be applied to jobs “in the real world.” Embedded formative assessment opportunities that help educators monitor student progress are embedded into each Techbook, and like all Discovery Education digital textbooks, the Science Techbooks work on any device and can be implemented in any instructional setting. All VVUSD educators will also have access to Discovery Education Streaming Plus, a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas that helps build students’ mastery in interpreting, understanding, and evaluating information. Teacher resources include lesson plans, instructional strategies, and content collections organized around themes. Students can access images, primary source documents, podcasts, oral interviews, books on tape, articles, and videos, and more. “The Val Verde Unified School District is proud to be at the forefront of California’s transition to the NGSS standards,” said VVUSD Superintendent Michael McCormick. “We believe Discovery Education will be a great partner in this effort and that the introduction of Discovery Education’s digital services into our district’s science education program will help students develop an in-depth understanding of scientific ideas and develop the collaboration, inquiry, and problem-solving skills they need for future success.” The Discovery Education Community will also support the VVUSD’s educators’ efforts to transform students’ learning experiences with dynamic digital media. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration. “Discovery Education is honored to be working side-by-side with Val Verde Unified School District’s educators as they move forward with this transition,” said Discovery Education’s Vice President for Educational Partnerships, Andrew Bradigan. “We share the district’s belief that science education can lead to a successful career and future, and we look forward to supporting their effort to extend to each student an engaging learning experience that supports the success of all learners.” For more information about Discovery Education’s digital content services, the Science Techbook, or other resources, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest. ### About Discovery EducationDiscovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.