The Aiken County Public School District has approved the use of 26 educational software companies to build core subjects such as reading, English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies for K-12 students in an attempt to build a library with sources for educators.
For the 2025-26 school year, contracts have been completed with various approved suppliers, including Studies Weekly, Try once, edmentum, EPS Learning, Derivita and Continals Press. These contracts will be extended annually over the next five years.
Aiken County Public School District Chief Instructional Officer Dr. Amy Edwards talks about suppliers of educational supplements during a meeting of 15 June. Staff photo per weeks in it.
The remaining approved software suppliers, although not contracted, will be available for schools to buy individually, based on their specific needs. Schools can plans local funds or title I to acquire these resources. This allows schools to select software that best supports their unique student populations, or now means that they serve multilingual students, support professional paths for high school students or offer extra sources for toddlers.
The evaluation of software congestions started earlier in June, with a selection committee that chose 26 companies from a 32 -year -old pool. These submissions were made through a request for proposals, in which the software companies were invited to propose their offers to the district.
Dr. Amy Edwards, Chief Instructional Officer, said that the RFP process allows the district to approve suppliers in advance “so that when we have to use them, we can do this in a more timely way.”
“Schools will also use this list to buy additional material, so that it reduces the time needed to have what they need,” she added. “This is a new process, but it will make our work easier and it will enable schools to have what they need to ensure high -quality education and learning at an degree level.”
Board member John Bradley raised a question during a board meeting of 15 June about the use of these technologies in the classroom, and whether virtual learning software is removed from the instruction time with real teachers: “Do we use technology to better teach the children, or do we use it to simply teach the children?”
Edwards was about his concern and said that one of the most prominent complaints from Aiken County’s parents is the amount of screen time that students get in the classroom. “Checking (screen time) is a very important piece of the puzzle, so that the children are not burned out,” she said.
Edwards also noted that teachers play a role in the selection of additional materials and say that the number of software companies that are used ‘gives’ options for people’.
“The teachers have a very loud voice, whether at school level it is leadership teams, or even on teacher forums, they can propose recommendations or make recommendations and ask things,” she said.
