What was the fundraiser you ask?  It was The Donut Dash!  It took little convincing to get Sam and Jacob to eat a dozen donuts for a good cause (or for any reason actually).

The race consisted of running 1.6 miles to the midpoint, eating a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, and running 1.6 miles back to the finish line.

Jacob and Sam Before the Big Race/Feast

If any other companies would like to host a fundraiser where Interactive Achievement employees can eat a dozen donuts guilt-free, be sure and let us know!

All Smiles for Donuts

Sam Making His Contribution to the DLC

We’ve been working with Wilkes County Schools in North Carolina for the past year to develop a North Carolina version of Interactive Achievement’s testing software.  The North Carolina Standard Course of Study has many similarities to the Virginia Standards of Learning, but in many ways the two differ greatly. The development of North Carolina content has been quite the learning opportunity for us here at Interactive Achievement, and we look forward to hopefully sharing IA with the rest of the state.

The Department of Instruction in North Carolina worked hard to write the application for Round 2 of Race to the Top, and they were rewarded for their efforts and their foresight and interest in developing a better educational system.  We applaud their efforts and wish them the best of luck as they implement their new processes!

Congratulations, North Carolina!

When a district goes site based, allowing individual schools to purchase products, we lack the continuity that a district based testing provides.  Call IA today to find out about district wide benchmark testing and the things it can do for your schools!

What if you knew each child’s learning style and could adapt parts of each lesson to match how they connected to the material being taught?  I have witnessed students who were thrown out of class daily because they disrupted class, but they were extremely successful in another setting that was active and had the student moving throughout the classroom during parts of the lesson.  That teacher found the door that the child would willingly go through to learn the material.  In the other teacher’s room (where the student was not successful), the door the student was trying to go through was shut, and the student decided to bang into the door they needed over and again.

Learning style driven instruction, focused to the individual student, will only breed success.  Discipline issues, failures, and other classroom related problems become minuscule in the over-education process when the learning styles of each student are being met.  We need to open all the doors during every class period so every student receives the education the teacher wants to deliver each day.

Thank you for the contribution, Jackie!

Q:  What has been the most common client comment you’ve encountered at IA?

A:  I have had the most incredible responses to Interactive Achievement as a product and as a company. I tip my hat to all educators and administrators… your job is only getting more difficult. Money is tight and now you’re even asked to compete for national funding, and yet there are still people dedicated to helping children achieve their greatest potential each and every day. This is as close to true altruism that a person will experience. I am blessed to be able to give back to the world of education in a different way. My favorite reaction to Interactive Achievement occurs during training sessions. A low, hushed round of giggles passes through the room. At first this reaction took me by surprise, but I soon realized that the smiles, sighs, and laughs were due to the relieving of a little pressure for educators…Interactive Achievement will not hinder someone’s abilities to be a teacher, it will help them create an environment for advanced learning. I have also received a few emails stating someone’s love for Interactive Achievement and they credit IA for helping their school achieve AYP goals. Education is a shared victory.

Q:  Would you recommend IA to your close teacher friends? Why?

I can honestly and openly state that I would never work for a company in which I did not believe. Everything about IA is genuine. As I have said before everyone works as a team member, never as an individual; a company with that type of dedication and cooperation is bound to be great. I am fortunate that all my of teacher friends work for districts that use IA, so there is little convincing… they use it and they love it. I look forward to building relationships with members of the education world from around the state and hopefully someday the entire country. Interactive Achievement has endless potential.



BREAKING NEWS: The Associated Press is announcing that 9 states and the District of Columbia have been named winners in the second round of the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” grant competition.  They are: Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.

At this time, the amounts that each winner will receive have not been announced.  That announcement is expected later today.

By focusing not on sales, but instead on quality and proper fit, we find that our clients are happier, more productive, and more satisfied with our testing software.  I was presenting Interactive Achievement to a school in Prince William County on Wednesday, and as I told that room of dedicated principals and teachers:  ”If it don’t fit, don’t buy it.”

(Full disclosure:  I did not actually say “If it don’t fit, don’t buy it”.  Had I said that I’m fairly certain the English teachers in the room would have requested that I leave immediately, banned from the school’s campus for eternity. You can rest assured that I said something along those lines, but with proper diction and grammar instead.)

We do not have a list of references at the ready that we provide to prospective clients.  Instead, we always suggest that the person seeking references call any of the school districts on our client list. Why should we pick and choose our happiest and best clients when what you’re looking for is an honest opinion? By not pushing for a sale, badmouthing our competitors, or providing pre-approved references, we may be in the minority when it comes to technology companies. But we believe that in the end, our clients will be happier because they’ve chosen to go with the company that best fits their needs.  And a happy client is always the ultimate goal!

Thank you for your blog post, Jon!

Pride is the main creator of many obstacles in our lives.  I was a very prideful teacher, principal, and overall person in all of the things I tried to accomplish.  It felt great when a student who had failed in a pervious area in my class then became successful later on during the year.  I felt on the top of the world: prideful in MY accomplishment.

That sounds great, but the problem rears its true ugly head when the student fails after all of the effort that was put into the student to make them successful. My pride told me to come up with whatever excuse I could forge to justify why the student failed.  These would all be circumstances that had nothing to do with me: divorce, a discipline problem, the student didn’t care, and so on.

The point is that pride as an educator can only lead down a road of excuses.  We as educators can never take a bow for the success of our students.  I know that goes against the norm, but in the end, it was the child that chose to do the work and apply what they learned.  And it was the child who became successful in that area we taught them.

Thank you for the contribution, Jackie!

Q:  What motivates you during your day at IA?

The idea of motivation is an interesting one.  As I watch Vanity Fair, I realize that people are motivated by a plethora of hidden agendas.  Sometimes motivation comes from the desire to change social classes, finances, or by the longing to please others.  My motivation comes from a combination of the compulsion to be a part of something big and the need to keep up with rest of my team.    Interactive Achievement is a young company, but one backed with enthusiasm, drive, a mountain of ideas, wit, and local charm.  I strive to be my greatest each day because everyone around me is doing the same.  The thought of being a part of an essential educational change is stimulating.  I am motivated because laziness is not a team effort.

Q:  What has been the most surprising aspect of your new job?

I have found several aspects of my job surprising, the first being the simple fact that I don’t whisper awful things to my alarm clock when it goes off in the morning…even when it is 4:30 am.  The most profound part of working for IA is that everyone has a voice.  I have had several instances when the CEO, the President (of the company) or various others from all departments have asked mine or someone else’s opinion…what a concept!!  This company bounces ideas off of one another with total disregard to any type of hierarchy.  After years of institutional, personal, and life experiences it is gratifying to be present and represented in an exchange of ideas.

Q:  How have you changed during your first two months with IA?

For the better part of my life I have taken a role as a type of stage manager.  I have been the type to work behind the scenes, help to make the show a success, and walk away with only internal recognition.  The change in me has come from the receptiveness of those with which I work.  I have discovered the confidence to share in discussions and conversations, a skill which has often eluded me.  Questions are answered with precision and grace and lessons are learned without patronization.  When IA speaks of being a family, it is not a term taken lightly.

The Interactive Achievement staff participated in yesterday’s “Back to School Blast” in Roanoke, VA.  The event was organized by community volunteers to provide “back to school services” to families of students in need in the Roanoke Valley.  Over 1,500 people were in attendance and received free shoes, haircuts, and school supplies.

IA Director of Customer Support, Sam Lackey, prepares for the Back to School Blast.

The IA staff is ready to pass out backpacks!

IA Director of IT, Richard Maxam, helps find the perfect pack!

The Interactive Achievement staff was in charge of the backpack station.  One by one, IA staffers helped students pick out a backpack of their choice.  What a thrill is was to see the excitement on the children’s faces as they selected a backpack!

Ready for her first day of Kindergarten!

See the news coverage here from WDBJ-7.