Idaho became the latest state on Thursday to partner with PragerU Kids, which offers free and optional resources to educators and parents through its PragerU in Schools initiative.
“We are thrilled to partner with Idaho to provide supplemental education for schools in need of age-appropriate content that will help teach civics, financial literacy, and history,” PragerU CEO Marissa Streit exclusively told Breitbart News. “We’re especially proud of our newest line of content developed for states like Idaho that require Holocaust education in their state standards.”
The Idaho Department of education approved a list of more than 400 PragerU resources, including videos, books, lesson plans, and worksheets that align with the state’s Social Studies standards. PragerU additionally created a “Constitution crosswalk,” which aligns five themes of the United States Constitution to their materials for all learning levels.
PragerU is also offering educational resources about the Holocaust for the first time, according to the organization. Idaho House Concurrent 2024 Resolution No. 25 encourages the state Department of Education to provide age-appropriate Holocaust education with an emphasis on promoting respect and combating antisemitism and all forms of prejudice.
“I’m excited to add these quality supplemental resources to our offerings here in Idaho,” Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said in a statement. “The materials, which align with Idaho standards, will be available to local districts interested in using them, free of charge. I’ve studied these materials extensively. They are assets that will enhance the list of tools available to our local schools in important areas like civics and financial literacy. I’m pleased that they are now available for use in Idaho classrooms.”
“After successfully completing the rigorous approval process by the Department of Education, it was absolutely worth it to be able to serve Idaho students,” Streit added “Many classrooms across the country are lacking reliable, age-appropriate resources for teachers to supplement existing curriculum so that they can teach some of the most important and essential topics. We’re excited to be at the frontlines serving educators and parents who need our support.”
An official video announcement of the partnership was published on the nonprofit’s website, featuring Critchfield and Streit.
Critchfield said in the video that she first tried out PragerU Kids materials with her own grandchildren, and her adult children loved what they saw.
“Like anything that I personally am interested in bringing into the state, I first start with the lens of, is this something that I would’ve wanted in front of my children as they went through the school setting? And now I have an even greater interest in it as I have a new grandson starting kindergarten,” she said.
Critchfield noted that all information about the partnership will be available on the Idaho Department of Education website, as well as links to the PragerU Kids materials, to encourage transparency for parents.
“There are finally no secrets, no gas lighting,” Streit replied. ” We are offering a window straight into the classroom. On our website, people can look up the standards and they can see the crosswalk and enjoy it and hopefully use it.”
Several other states are partnering with PragerU, including South Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, Montana, New Hampshire, Arizona, and Louisiana.