Evans Newton Incorporated Celebrates Forty Years as the Trusted Partner in American Education
Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) November 27, 2013 -- Evans Newton Incorporated (ENI) celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. ENI is a company of people committed to promoting student success, increasing teacher effectiveness, enhancing administrator leadership skills, and promoting parental involvement.
Jamie Piotti, ENI’s Owner, CEO, and President, is proud of ENI’s legacy and the realization of her goals to give every student a chance for the best educational experience possible. Piotti’s passion is for ENI to transform and improve schools and to always be the trusted educational partner of choice in public and private K–12 schools—large and small, urban, suburban, and rural. Piotti believes in running ENI in a morally and ethically sound way and in giving back to make a difference in the world. She has written about this in her soon-to be-published book, Soulful . . . How to Build a Successful Company, Help Others and Live a Life with Purpose.
In 1973 Piotti’s father, Lloyd Ferguson, a former schoolteacher and principal, was a true entrepreneur and wanted to integrate technology into the classroom. Evans Newton Incorporated was born and grew into a company that specialized in education software. According to the editors of Technology and Learning magazine, ENI’s student mastery software, Project Basic, was the second computer and software solution to be installed in a school that operated on the Apple II computer, a groundbreaking achievement.
Twenty five years ago, Jamie Piotti assumed leadership of and soon after purchased ENI. Under Piotti’s guidance, ENI has developed and expanded its products and services to fulfill the needs of the ever-evolving school achievement and educator effectiveness requirements, focusing on school transformation and sustainable school improvement. ENI is one of the largest female-owned companies in Arizona (ranked 16th in Phoenix Business Journal 2011 and 25th in 2012). “We understand education,” Piotti said. “ENI is a company of educators known for rolling up our sleeves, working in the trenches, and showing up where others won’t.”
Piotti believes in sharing ENI’s success and paying it forward. After Hurricane Katrina, Piotti knew that the educational system in New Orleans had been shattered. Lake Forest Charter School was one of the first schools to reopen. Without hesitation, Piotti made sure these teachers and children had learning materials and resources at their fingertips so they could resume their educational endeavors and gain some sense of normalcy amongst such devastation. ENI has also worked with charitable organizations such as The American Red Cross, St. Mary’s Food Bank, St. Vincent DePaul, UMOM, and The United Way to help families and children in need across the United States. Through Piotti’s nonprofit organization, Foundation for Educational Opportunity, ENI has funded over $85K in college scholarships to deserving students so they can achieve their potential by getting a college education.
In the early 1980s, ENI’s mission branched from software only to services. The company also successfully adapted and applied its renowned “deep curriculum alignment” approach that is used to this day. ENI’s professionals have written over 70,000 assessment items and aligned over 1,000 textbooks.
ENI also branded the TargetTeach® 5-Step process to school improvement, which has become the guiding framework for implementation support in districts and schools. This process defines the consistent and ongoing need for setting goals, aligns instructional content, fills instructional gaps, delivers incremental assessments, and monitors student progress. ENI’s software name also changed to TargetTeach.
Following the introduction of TargetTeach, customers received the first TargetStrategies® lessons to help address specific gaps in their instructional materials alignment. This was quickly followed up by the introduction of TargetFundamentals® to address the need for comprehensive remedial instructional materials and Parent Assisted Learning PAL Packets® to complement classroom instruction with take-home activities and support of parent involvement in student learning. ENI has developed over 4,500 lessons in English, Math, Social Studies, and Science, making a difference in many schools and districts. “We are so thankful for our partnership with ENI,” said Michelle Lesser, Principal, Clifton Elementary School, Colorado. “With assistance in aligning curriculum, setting up processes, coaching of teachers, and assessment, we have been able to make incredible gains in student achievement and teacher growth. We look forward to continuing our work with ENI.”
Remaining true to its commitment of supporting education in America, in 2012 ENI introduced a full suite of tools, commoncoreNOW™, that deliver the Common Core State Standard (CCSS) and state standard compatibility needed to take students up to Depth of Knowledge level 4 (DOK4). “Before partnering with Evans Newton, we were doing a lot of things right. Now, we’re doing a lot of things great,” said Denette E. Kolbe, Assistant Director of Schools for Putnam County Schools (TN). “Our data shows we’ve really transformed.”
ENI has been instrumental in raising student achievement in thousands of school districts across the country. Student growth of 20–30% after working with ENI is common. In a research study performed by Arizona State University, student achievement growth was acknowledged and certified for Assumption Parish School District (LA), Calumet Public School District (IL), Hazel Crest School District (IL), Joliet Public Schools District (IL), Lafayette Academy Charter School (LA), Tulsa Public Schools (OK) and Zion Elementary School District (IL) after implementing ENI services. Also, ENI is an Approved External Provider for School Improvement Services in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio; Whole School Reform Provider in Tennessee; and, School Improvement Lead Partner in Illinois.
Piotti is honored to lead the celebration of this major milestone in ENI’s history. Piotti invites you to celebrate Evans Newton Incorporated Day, as proclaimed by former Scottsdale Mayor, Mary Manross, on November 28th. “I couldn’t be prouder of my team and of the accomplishments of our partner schools and districts. I can’t wait to see what we have done when we turn 50!” Piotti said.
About Evans Newton Incorporated
Evans Newton Incorporated (ENI) is a company of educators who are experts in school transformation. Since 1973, ENI has partnered with K–12 schools, districts, and state departments of education to create dramatic improvements in student performance. Through a highly collaborative process of goal-setting, standards alignment, curriculum and assessment development, professional development and coaching, ENI empowers teachers and school leaders to transform their schools and get results.
The company has been headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the Scottsdale Airpark, since 1978. Visit ENI at: http://www.evansnewton.com.
Jamie Piotti, Evans Newton Incorporated, http://www.evansnewton.com, +1 480-998-2777, [email protected]
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