Core Knowledge Foundation Partners with Louisiana Ed Department to Offer Digital K–8 Social Studies Curriculum

Education equity nonprofit Core Knowledge Foundation has partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) to develop a digital K–8 social studies curriculum, Bayou Bridges, for the state's school districts for the 2024-25 school year. The curriculum will be hosted on ed tech company Kiddom's platform.

The curriculum is aligned with Louisiana state standards and was developed using open educational resources based on the science of reading skills, according to a news release.

LDOE said on its website that Bayou Bridges, which emphasizes expert-reviewed primary source material, fosters students who have "broad and deep knowledge about the world, are able to express reasoned and nuanced arguments, and are prepared to participate in civic life."

The Kiddom subscription will offer an "enhanced version" of Bayou Bridges that supports ease of use, the release said.

Features of the subscription include:

  • All-in-one resources and various methods for creating student assignments and activities at the class, group, and individual level;
  • Customizable assignments for grade levels that feature scaffolding, over 15 tech-enhanced item types, and several ways for students to respond;
  • Real-time progress assessment available to both students and teachers; and
  • Full dashboards that provide skills and standards mastery reports and progress tracking at the student, school, and district levels.

"We are eager to support states across the country that seek to improve learning outcomes via localized and contextualized high-quality core instructional materials," said Abbas Manjee, Kiddom's co-founder and chief academic officer. "Accessing these materials from Kiddom allows educators to easily unpack, understand, and implement instruction in a way that is vastly more effective than paper alone."

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

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