SAS makes bold statement for education: SAS® Curriculum Pathways® now free to all educators, and their students, in America

Technology in the classroom is critical to repairing education system in crisis

RALEIGH, NC – SAS® Curriculum Pathways®, used by thousands of teachers in more than 30 states, is now available for free to every educator in America. The move comes in response to an education system in crisis and in need of resources that engage 21st-century students. SAS CEO Jim Goodnight announced the change today, strongly reaffirming the company’s more than 30-year commitment to education.

“SAS Curriculum Pathways is now a free resource from SAS to our nation’s children,” said Goodnight at the Joint Legislative Technology Commission meeting. “Shrinking budgets and pricing structures should not stand in the way of America’s students receiving education technology that will engage them and better prepare them for today’s work force.”

The country’s graduation rate is estimated to be 70 percent, leaving nearly one-third of students without a high school diploma, the essential credential for the workplace and for further education. The No. 1 reason students give for dropping out? Boredom.

“Today’s students communicate, learn and interact with the world through technology, yet we ask them to leave that behind when they enter a classroom,” said Goodnight. “Education has not changed, but this new generation of kids has. They are bored and they are dropping out. Online curriculum is one way we can begin to adapt our educational system to their needs.”

SAS Curriculum Pathways provides content in the core disciplines of English, mathematics, social studies, science and Spanish. Aligned with state standards, it has more than 200 InterActivities and 855 ready-to-use lessons that enable technology-rich instruction and engage higher-order thinking skills. It is primarily for use in grades 8-12, though middle school content is in development.

Designed for a wide range of classroom environments, technology capabilities and learning styles, SAS Curriculum Pathways can be used flexibly – in a one-computer classroom, in small groups, or in 1:1 computing initiatives, where every student and teacher has a computer.

SAS is a partner in the North Carolina 1:1 Learning Technology Initiative which provides computer and curriculum resources to teachers and students at several North Carolina high schools. In 1:1 laptop learning environments at Centennial Magnet Campus Middle School in Raleigh and Hunt High School in Wilson County student performance has increased and discipline problems have decreased.

“Our teachers and administrators feel that student engagement has increased significantly thanks to a one-to-one environment with access to SAS Curriculum Pathways,” said Larry Price, Wilson County Schools Superintendent. “At Hunt, we’ve seen the number of drop outs decrease by 42 percent, with substantially fewer student discipline incidents and student suspensions.”

SAS Curriculum Pathways, winner of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) 2008 CODiE Award for Best K-12 Instructional Solution, is also used in community colleges, virtual schools and home settings.

Teachers in the classroom or at home can select and integrate resources that facilitate differentiated instruction and develop critical thinking skills. Integrating rigorous content with skillful instructional design prepares students for college-level learning, employs 21st-century skills, and assists in meeting achievement and accountability criteria.

SAS is committed to integrating technology into all levels of education and to helping prepare our children for the 21st-century work force. SAS partners with educational institutions to deliver the analytical and instructional technology to best meet their teaching, learning, research and administrative needs.

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. With innovative business applications supported by an enterprise intelligence platform, SAS helps customers at 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®