HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Although summer is an exciting time with vacations and warm weather, it also means time away from the classroom which can lead to “Summer Slide.” To help students in Alabama continue their learning over the summer in an engaging and fun way, the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) is launching its fifth annual Alabama Summer Learning Challenge. From May through July, students across the state have free access to several online learning tools, including Stride™, an award-winning digital learning solution from Fuel Education^® (FuelEd^®) for intervention and supplemental learning that rewards student progress with games.

“This collaboration has allowed for thousands of students across the state to have access to skills practice, challenging video games and competitive learning that they would not otherwise experience in the summer months,” said Malissa Valdes-Hubert, Public Information Manager at ALSDE.

Stride motivates students toward mastery of math, language arts, reading, and science concepts and rewards their learning with “coins” they can redeem for gaming time. Its adaptive technology ensures students focus on concepts they need to practice and helps provide a variety of content to keep students engaged. Its Spanish translation features support English language learners. Because it is a cloud-based system, Stride works on most popular devices, including tablets and laptops, so students can access it anytime, anywhere. Students using Stride can compete against each other in games for a greater sense of community.

“Without Stride as a free resource as part of the Alabama Summer Learning Challenge, learning loss would be greater and students would return to school in August ill-prepared for the work that lay ahead. We are so thankful and hope to continue this rewarding partnership with Fuel Education that helps to create and sustain academic learning for Alabama students all summer long,” said Valdes-Hubert.

In addition to skills practice, Stride can be used for assessment and test readiness in the classroom. The built-in benchmark and formative assessments gauge whether students are at grade level for end-of-course and end-of-year tests. The solution also provides educators with real-time data and in-depth reports to help track student performance and guide instructional intervention.

“The Alabama State Department of Education is providing an invaluable service to its students over the summer by giving them access to online tools like Stride, which not only helps students stay engaged during vacation months but also provides an excellent supplement to in-class work during the school year,” said Brian Shulman, Senior Vice President for Fuel Education.

During last summer’s Alabama Summer Learning Challenge, students across the state answered 4,465,014 skills practice questions in Stride, a 250 percent increase from the 2015 Challenge. Parents were pleased with their children’s use of Stride last summer. Following is feedback from parents:

• “I definitely want the kids to use Stride this summer. It’s a great resource that doesn't cause back-talk when I tell them to start it! My 7 year old said she learned extra math skills from Stride. My 11 year old said he and his friends are "kind of addicted to Stride" because of the coins they earn when they get answers right. They like saving the coins up and then using them to play cool games.” – Sarah, parent, Madison, AL
• “My boys used Stride during the summer last year. I made it part of their daily homework. They really looked forward to the games once they completed the lesson, especially the squirrel one. We will do Stride again this summer because it's an easy and interactive way for them to keep up their skills. We used to do workbook pages and they dreaded it, but they actually get excited about Stride.” – Gwen, parent, Madison, AL

To learn more about Stride, visit fueleducation.com/stride.

About Fuel Education

Fuel Education^® partners with school districts to fuel personalized learning and transform the education experience inside and outside the classroom. The company provides innovative solutions for pre-K through 12th grade that empower districts to implement successful online and blended learning programs. Its open, easy-to-use Personalized Learning Platform, PEAK™, enables teachers to customize courses using their own content, FuelEd courses and titles, third-party content, and open educational resources. Fuel Education serves more than 2,000 school districts, offering one of the industry’s largest catalogs of K–12 digital curriculum, certified instruction, professional development, and educational services. To learn more, visit fueleducation.com and Twitter.

©2017 Fuel Education LLC. All rights reserved. Fuel Education, FuelEd, and Stride are trademarks of Fuel Education LLC or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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