CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Thursday, June 3, 2010 – The Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) has presented Teachstone with its 2010 “Rocket Award.”

The annual award goes to a new or existing company that has made a rapid move from concept toward commercialization through the development of a new technology, product or service. Event organizers hailed the company for taking the company from concept to viable business in less than 12 months.

Teachstone builds on research-based teaching and learning tools and makes them available to education professionals with the goal of improving both teacher performance and student results. Currently Teachstone’s work centers around the CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System), a highly-acclaimed and proven observational tool that focuses on improving the quality of classroom interactions as a way to improve teacher performance and student learning. The CLASS provides a common lens that helps teachers, administrators, researchers and data collectors break down the complex classroom environment into a proven, user-friendly framework.

“We are delighted to receive this honor from one of our area’s most respected and forward-thinking organizations,” said Teachstone Executive Director Jan Dorman. “Our yearlong ‘rocket’ ride is the result of a unique combination of vision, dedication, and hard work by a devoted and very talented team of people, starting with our founders Bob Pianta and Bridget Hamre. We owe a great deal as well to [the] CASTL [research group] for their creation of such an extraordinary line of educational tools, to the Foundation for Child Development, and the many users and supporters of Teachstone programs. And since no rocket can even get off the ground without fuel, we are very thankful for our team of dedicated, hard-working people at Teachstone that help us move forward every day.”

Teachstone currently offers a suite of programs and services focusing on CLASS training and teacher professional development.  Training sessions are offered both on-site and in regional training across the country and range from introductory to intensive “Train-the-Trainer” programs.
Teachstone’s Professional Development programs include informational introductions to CLASS concepts, video-based interactive tools that allow users to connect to the organization’s Video Library, and “MyTeachingPartner,” an empowering 10-month personalized program in which Teachstone professionals consult with teachers to help them learn and utilize CLASS principles.

The CBIC is a private-sector organization advocating entrepreneurship and technology-based economic development in Central Virginia. Each year the council recognizes members in business, technology, and community endeavors.

For more information on Teachstone and its programs, visit www.teachstone.org or call 434.293.3909.

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Dean Bob Pianta of the University of Virginia testifies before U.S. Senate HELP Committee

“Last month I spoke to students from the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education about the need to recruit an army of new teachers to our nation’s schools,” Duncan said. “It is no secret that the early learning field faces similar challenges of recruiting, preparing and retaining effective teachers and caregivers. But I am impressed that Curry’s dean, Robert Pianta, and his colleagues have developed an assessment used in thousands of pre-K classrooms that demonstrates that a teachers’ skill in implementing curriculum makes the critical difference in student learning. His research has documented that only about a quarter of the programs serving four-year olds provide children with the high levels of emotional and instructional support that they need.”

Find the full text of Secretary Duncan’s speech here: http://www2.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/11/11182009.html