Former Pennsylvania School Superintendent to Helm Discovery Education’s Global Professional Development Efforts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Stephen Wakefield, Discovery Education
240-662-2893
[email protected]

Emily Embury, C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
608-839-9800
[email protected]

–Education veteran Susanne Meixsell named Vice President of Professional Development–

Silver Spring, Md. (May 19, 2010) —Discovery Education has expanded its professional development team by appointing Susanne Meixsell as Vice President of Professional Development to oversee the company’s extensive in-person and online training operations.

In her new role, Meixsell will lead Discovery Education’s professional development group by overseeing content development and implementation, developing the training team, improving evaluation standards and ultimately delivering standardized training to partners that garner measurable results. She will report to Scott Kinney, Vice President of Global Outreach and Learning Initiatives for Discovery Education.

Prior to joining Discovery Education, Meixsell spent 20 years serving as an educator in the Pennsylvania public school system. Most recently, Meixsell served as Superintendent of Schools for the Northwestern Lehigh School District. Also during her leadership tenure with the district, she held posts as Assistant Superintendent, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Middle School Assistant Principal.

Previously, Meixsell served in two roles at Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21, a regional educational service agency in Pennsylvania. She was an Educational Consultant in the special education arena and the Coordinator for Professional Development. As the Coordinator for Professional Development, she worked with 17 educational entities to support high quality professional development opportunities tied to increasing student achievement. Meixsell has also served as an elementary teacher for eight years in the Northern Lehigh School District.

Meixsell holds a bachelor’s degree in Arts and Humanities from Muhlenberg College, a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Kutztown University and received administrative training from Pennsylvania State University. In addition, she is currently a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program at Lehigh University.

“Susanne brings a wealth of classroom, administrative and professional development experience to Discovery Education, which is essential as we continue to expand our professional development offerings to schools around the world,” said Kinney. “The digital content and educational technologies being used in today’s classrooms are great, but they are maximized when educators are equipped with the skills to effectively integrate those tools and resources into their instructional practices to improve student achievement.”

Meixsell is based at Discovery Education’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.

For more information about Discovery Education and its services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, or call 800-323-9084.

About Discovery Education
Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) revolutionized television with Discovery Channel and is now transforming classrooms through Discovery Education. Powered by the number one nonfiction media company in the world, Discovery Education combines scientifically proven, standards-based digital media and a dynamic user community in order to empower teachers to improve student achievement. Already, more than half of all U.S. schools access Discovery Education digital services. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

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