JOHNSTON – Iowa Public Television’s (IPTV) commitment to early childhood education continues with the expansion of its Ready for School initiative, according to an Oct. 2 news release. Educational specialists will work with educators, parents, child care providers and community partners in several Iowa communities to implement STEM and literacy-based activities for children ages two through six years old.
The South Central Calhoun Community School District is among the 17 school districts selected as part of the initiative for 2019-2020.
“Iowa Public Television uses the power of technology and media to spark children’s curiosity and excite them about learning,” said Ken Harrison, director of Educational Services at IPTV. “Ready for School activities are designed to enhance early reading, math, science and social-emotional skills for young children. This roll-out to the 2019-2020 communities furthers IPTV’s efforts to serve families across Iowa with trusted educational content.”
IPTV’s seventh year of Ready for School will focus on giving all children equal opportunity to succeed. IPTV will provide access to high-quality educational media resources including online games, instructional materials and educational activities that help children increase their school readiness and success.
The multimedia content and related activities are based upon the work of educational children’s programming from PBS, such as The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Odd Squad, Martha Speaks, Peg + Cat, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Super WHY!.
The initiative has been validated by scientifically-based research funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Ready for School has been deployed in more than 100 other Iowa communities prior to this year.
Along with SCC, the 2019-2020 Ready for School communities associated with the following school districts are Bedford, Bondurant-Farrar, Boone, Des Moines, Diagonal, East Mills, Essex, Fremont-Mills, Galva-Holstein, Hamburg, Mount Ayr, Nodaway Valley, OABCIG, River Valley, Sidney and South Page.
