Iowa Public Television Announces 2017- 2018 "Ready for School" Communities

Education specialists work to strengthen math and literacy skills of young Iowa children Johnston, IA (November 2, 2017) - Iowa Public Television's (IPTV) commitment to early childhood education continues with the expansion of its "Ready for School" initiative. Educational specialists will work with educators, parents, child care providers and community partners in several Iowa school communities to implement math and literacy-based activities for children ages two through eight years old.  "Iowa Public Television uses the power of technology and media to spark children's curiosity and excite them about learning," said Ken Harrison, director of Educational Services at IPTV. "'Ready for School' activities are designed to enhance early reading and math skills for young children. This roll-out to the 2017-18 communities furthers IPTV's efforts to serve families across Iowa with trusted educational content."   IPTV's fifth year of "Ready for School" will focus on giving all children equal opportunity to succeed. IPTV will provide access to high-quality educational media resources including online games, instructional materials and educational activities that help children increase their school readiness and success. The multimedia content and related activities are based upon the work of educational children's programming from PBS, such as "The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!", "The Electric Company", "Odd Squad", "Martha Speaks", "Peg + Cat and Super WHY!" The initiative has been validated by scientifically-based research funded by the U.S. Department of Education. "Ready for School" has been deployed in over ninety other Iowa communities prior to this year. The 2017-2018 "Ready for School" communities are: Council Bluffs Community School District Des Moines Independent Community School District  Fort Dodge Community School District Maquoketa Valley Community School District North Fayette Valley Community School District Perry Community School District  Starmont Community School District  Waterloo Community School District West Central Community School District West Des Moines Community School District Learn more at Iptv.org. For more information about Iowa Public Television, please contact Susan Ramsey at 515.725.9703 or Susan.Ramsey@iptv.org. -30- Iowa Public Television is Iowa's only statewide television network. IPTV's mission to educate, inform, enrich and inspire Iowans guides its quality, noncommercial programming that tells Iowa's stories like no one else can. Three statewide, public channels offer programs of lasting value to Iowans, regardless of where they live or what they can afford: IPTV (.1), IPTV LEARNS (.2) and IPTV WORLD (.3) on Channel 11, Des Moines; Channel 12, Iowa City; Channel 21, Fort Dodge; Channel 24, Mason City; Channel 27, Sioux City; Channel 32, Waterloo; Channel 32, Council Bluffs; Channel 36, Davenport; Channel 36, Red Oak. More information can be found at Iptv.org.