Sacramento, Calif. — New Ulm Public Schools won a commendation and was cited as having a software stack of apps and systems, and an above-average coverage model for core curriculum in digital form, at a national gathering of the Learning Counsel, an education research institute and news media hub, in Dallas.

Four different categories of proficiency were celebrated in the counsel’s national survey awards.

Over 400 schools and districts responded to this year’s national survey, including many first-time responders.

This year’s national survey provided exclusive information on education’s use of technology and exposed a wide-ranging level of both expertise in and response to the market pressures driving the digital transition in education. Key takeaways from the 2019 national survey include:

• The U.S. K-12 Market is experiencing the results of unsustainable growth in total spending without commensurate results – forcing more sophisticated approaches to technology use.

• Hardware and major systems software spending has leveled, while digital curriculum spending continues a steep ascent, driving change in school and district operations.

• The social-emotional needs of students are now cited by respondents as the number one pressure point, adding an important new focus in school operations.

• Schools and districts are progressing towards new personalized learning models at varying levels but are still heavily entrenched in whole-group teaching.

According to LeiLani Cauthen, CEO of the Learning Counsel, “For insiders who know the education sector, the reason these awards are a big deal is because the Learning Counsel takes a very sophisticated view about what constitutes good work. The survey is written to contextualize education from a multi-industry tech progression reality, not just internal comparatives. Hundreds of administrators tell the Learning Counsel the great effect of this research survey telling them what it really means to transition digitally, what the definitions of things really are, and how to look at new software capacities and digital curriculum for their utility and efficiency. The change in viewpoint is deeply respected.”

“Past award winners tell us that the Learning Counsel Survey Awards are very impactful,” said Daric Aquinaga, Director of School Relations at the Learning Counsel. “Thousands of other school administrators are going to look them up.  This is a very high honor we’re bestowing on any one of these winners.  This is real and earned.”

About the Learning Counsel

The Learning Counsel is a research institute and news media hub, focused on providing context for the shift in education to digital curriculum. The membership is comprised of 215,000 superintendents, tech and instructional administrators, curriculum specialists, thousands of publishers, and interested enthusiasts anywhere in the teaching and learning field.