Combination Provides a Broad and Validated Portfolio of System-Wide Professional Learning Solutions for Schools
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Camden, NJ (via PRWEB) October 04, 2011 - Catapult Learning, a leading provider of instructional and professional learning services, today announced that it has acquired Literacy First, a research-based comprehensive reform process that accelerates reading achievement in grades PreK through 12. Literacy First was represented in this transaction by merger and acquisition advisory firm Whitestone Communications, New York.
The acquisition will build upon Catapult Learning’s existing range of instructional programs, and will enable Catapult Learning to strengthen its professional development expertise by leveraging Literacy First’s nationally validated approach to school improvement and capacity building. Catapult Learning will also invest in Literacy First’s process to help apply its methodology to other instructional areas, such as mathematics.
The Literacy First reading reform process includes systematic leadership implementation for school principals and rigorous professional development for teachers, and has been validated by a number of autonomous standards organizations. As part of an independent study published last January, the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation determined that Literacy First Grant schools increased their average reading scores by 89 points over the academic year, more than three times higher than the state’s average increase. Literacy First schools scored 119 points higher than the state average overall.
“The research is clear that building teacher effectiveness and leadership capacity around literacy dramatically impacts school culture and the performance of all students,” said Stuart Udell, President and CEO of Catapult Learning. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Literacy First into the Catapult family.”
Bill Blokker, President and CEO of Literacy First, added “We have been extremely deliberate in building Literacy First to ensure that we get extraordinary results in every implementation. By joining forces with Catapult, we now have the opportunity to serve even more kids.”
Catapult Learning is the nation’s leading provider of small-group intervention, extended day, and summer learning programs. In addition, Catapult provides professional development, coaching, and growth modeling services to help build teacher effectiveness and leadership capacity. Today, Catapult’s network of 3,800 teachers and educational service providers deliver instructional and educational support programs in 1,500 public, non-public, and charter schools throughout the country.
Literacy First is a nationally validated process approved for use and implemented in Reading First schools, as well as in Comprehensive School Reform grant schools. The Literacy First Process is a concentrated three-year professional development commitment for a school or district that is delivered either directly through Literacy First consultants or as a Trainer-of-Trainers model. Literacy First was founded in 1996 under the guiding principle that all future learning stems from a strong foundation in literacy; Literacy must come First.
