AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Livingtree, Inc announced a partnership with the Newport News Public Schools and Cox to bring families closer to their child(ren)'s learning experiences at school. Through a pilot program this school year Cox will provide the Livingtree family engagement app for free to Newport News teachers, administrators, parents, and caregivers.
"Family engagement is crucial to student success. Thanks to our new partnership with Cox, we will create stronger connections with our families through the Livingtree app," said Dr. George Parker, III, superintendent of Newport News Public Schools. "This joint venture will establish a culture of collaboration and achievement."
"Cox is committed to helping our local communities particularly when it comes to positioning kids for bright futures. We believe the Livingtree app is a powerful tool to bring teachers, parents and kids closer which will result in better student outcomes," said Nneka Chiazor, VP of Field Government & Public Affairs.
Backed by research, industry experts and proven methods, the Livingtree Engage platform is a private, safe, and secure community for teachers and families to work together more collaboratively. Through easy-to-use social features available on web browsers and mobile devices, Livingtree connects educators and families in a two-way communication platform.
Dr. Steve Constantino, national expert in family engagement and Senior Vice President for Livingtree shares, "We know that family engagement is a direct conduit to improved learning, so how can parents easily make an impact? Families are more overwhelmed today than they've ever been. Livingtree is an easy way to connect with kids on a meaningful level and go way beyond the typical question parents often ask, 'how was your day?'"
This public-private partnership is an extension of Cox's commitment to close the digital divide. Since 2012, through the Connect2Compete program (C2C), Cox has provided discounted internet service to families with children who qualify for the National Free School Lunch program. To date, more than 500,000 people have been connected to the internet via the Connect2Compete program. In a 2018 C2C customer survey, 61% of customers shared they never had internet before. Respondents also believe C2C improves parent and teacher communication (95%), boosts graduation rates (91%), and helps students earn higher grades (89%).
As a part of the pilot, Livingtree will also provide capacity-building professional development for teachers to learn the necessary skills in family engagement strategies and then how to apply those strategies to technology. Additionally, family responses to teacher engagement posts are then measured through a Livingtree Family Efficacy Score (FES). Displayed for teachers in a simple, easily understood format, the system can also take the FES and compare it to targeted learning outcomes to show how the engagements with families are impacting specific learning.
About Newport News Public Schools
Each day in Newport News Public Schools the focus is on one mission: ensuring that all students graduate college, career and citizen-ready. With an early learning curriculum designed to boost literacy and math instruction, STEM learning in all grades and advanced educational technology, NNPS has the tools to ensure student and teacher success. Newport News Public Schools educates 28,680 children in 42 schools: 5 early childhood centers, 24 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, 5 high schools and 1 middle/high combination school. The school division employs 4,688 dedicated staff to support student success.
About Cox Communications
Cox is committed to creating meaningful moments of human connection through broadband applications and services. The largest private telecom company in America, we proudly serve six million homes and businesses across 18 states. We're dedicated to empowering others to build a better future and celebrate diverse products, people, suppliers, communities and the characteristics that makes each one unique. Cox Communications is the largest division of Cox Enterprises, a family-owned business founded in 1898 by Governor James M. Cox.
About Livingtree
Founded in 2012, Livingtree's mission is to improve the learning lives of students so they can succeed beyond the classroom. Through its family engagement platform Livingtree Engage, and its fundraising platform Livingtree Give, Livingtree aims to serve and connect school communities. The Livingtree Engage platform has been recognized by EdTech Digest as an Award Finalist for the 2019 Communication Solution, the 2018 Administrative Solution and Communication Solution, and the 2017 Parent/Student Solution. Livingtree was also recognized for its work by the Stevie® Awards as the 2016 Gold Community Involvement Program of the Year and 2016 Silver Smartphone App of the Year. http://learn.livingtree.com/
SOURCE Livingtree
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