Industry News

Worthington Direct has named Jason

Miles company president. Jason joined the company in 2016 as director of operations and has played an integral role in the company’s continued success within the school furniture market.

He succeeds founder Kevin Worthington, who has been active in the school supply chain for more than 44 years. Kevin spent 15 years at Hoover Brothers Inc. and five years with JL Hammett Co., before starting his own educational furniture dealership in 1997.

Jason previously worked for Lockton Companies as a vice president within its transportation division. The role gave him insight into the logistic challenges that can surface when shipping furniture, especially in the current climate. At Worthington Direct, he has made many improvements in freight procedures and other internal processes. Investing in customer service continues to be his top priority.

Today, Worthington Direct is still relatively small with fewer than 25 employees. The company still prints an annual school-furniture catalog that features a curated selection of top sellers. However, the product offering on worthingtondirect.com is greatly expanded, allowing other markets to find specialty and commercial furniture products with ease.

Jason Miles and Kevin Worthington

The Education Market

Association has added two new team members to meet the needs of the organization as it expands its influence and member services.

Heather Tuley has joined the staff in the newly created position of program & content manager. Her role is key to the successful implementation of EDmarket’s membership programs and thought leadership within the educational products space.

In addition to 13 years as a classroom teacher, Heather brings extensive experience working with education associations, most recently as certification manager at the Texas Association of School Business Officials. She has a master’s degree in education leadership from Texas State University and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Texas A&M University.

Kelly Fisher has been hired as director of marketing, charged with creating integrated marketing plans that support the growth of the association and its programs, events, and membership outreach efforts. Kelly joins EDmarket after spending 13 years with Diversified Spaces, most recently as their marketing & brand manager.

Kelly has extensive experience as a creative and art director for companies of all sizes, both on a freelance and corporate basis. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in graphic design from the University of Wisconsin.

A study published in May by EdReports, a nonprofit that provides free reviews of instructional materials, found that the availability of standardsaligned instructional materials continues to increase, but the majority of teachers are not using or have access to highquality curricula.

“The State of the Instructional Materials Market 2021: The Availability and Use of Aligned Materials” draws on data from the RAND Corporation American Instructional Resources Survey on curriculum use, teacher perception, and school context. Released annually, the study focuses on the availability of year-long instructional materials that are aligned to college and career-ready standards, how regularly these materials are used, and how often teachers are modifying or supplementing their lessons. Additionally, this year’s study explores the extent to which materials provide culturally relevant content and support a diversity of student needs, including those of multilingual learners.

“Because of the critical role materials play in supporting teachers and students, it is vital for all stakeholders to have a better understanding of the materials market,” said Eric Hirsch, executive director of EdReports. “The 2020-21 school year was unlike any other, and while teachers’ use of standards-aligned materials remained consistent from 2020 into 2021, they were also supplementing with resources found on places such as Google and Pinterest at higher rates. In watching this trend, and assessing the impact of the pandemic, we should all be asking: are all students receiving access to the grade-level content and supports they need to learn and grow?”

The 2021 study offers five key findings that capture the evolving

nature of the multi-billion-dollar annual materials market and how teachers are experiencing instructional materials in their classrooms. • The availability of standards-aligned instructional materials continues to increase. • Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, the use of aligned materials has remained consistent to previous years. • Regardless of alignment, teachers are modifying their instructional materials at similar rates. • Teachers want materials that are aligned to state standards, offer support for multilingual learners, and provide culturally relevant content and approaches, but few believe their materials meet these needs. • Research shows that implementing high-quality instructional materials in an environment with supportive leadership, along with ongoing coaching, and professional development is most likely to lead to success. This is not the experience teachers report having.

A new addition to this year’s report is information about teacher perceptions on whether or not materials help engage all students in high-level learning and ensure access to gradelevel content. Seventy-two percent of teachers say materials that include support for multilingual learners are somewhat or extremely important to them. A still higher 82 percent of teachers cite “content and approaches that are culturally relevant” as somewhat or extremely important to them.

However, when it comes to the materials teachers are using, less than 25 percent of teachers describe their curriculum as adequate or completely adequate in meeting the needs of multilingual learners or in supporting them to provide culturally relevant instruction.

“Along with being standards aligned, I’m looking for a curriculum that is truly student centered, where students can engage in the mathematical practices and be challenged to think critically,” said Neven Holland, a fourth-grade teacher and EdReports Klawe Fellow. “If the materials don’t connect, the kids are not going to pay attention. We deserve materials that offer guidance for how to support different learners and that give us ways to bring in a variety of communities while still meeting the standards.”

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