Sarasota Libraries, schools partner to bring learning tools to students

Access to learning materials just got easier for students in Sarasota County Schools. 

Sarasota County Public Libraries and Sarasota County Schools partnered to bring ONEPass, a program that allows teachers, students and staff access to a variety of learning tools, to the county. 

The free digital resources were curated for the district by age group and are available through the county libraries.  

ONEPass contains resources such as Mango Languages, Creativebug and LearningExpress. The curated programs maximize engagement and help build student skills in reading, language, math and the arts. 

In a statement, director of Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources Renee Di Pilato said the goal of library work is to inspire the community to learn, which is why the libraries staff decided to partner with the school district. 

"Whether it is learning how to play a new instrument, working through practice tests about history, or preparing for a future career or college, these tools will continue to open doors," Di Pilato said in the statement. "We are pleased to support our community’s teachers, district staff and students as they pursue a variety of educational goals.”

The tools can be found through the existing MySCS portal, an online hub that school members use to access digital textbooks, online articles and other media. 

“This partnership is all about removing barriers. All of our families will now have access to the infinite resources available in our libraries,” Dr. Laura Kingsley, assistant superintendent/chief academic officer of Sarasota County Schools in a statement. “ ... ONEPass will allow our school communities to dive even deeper into their interest areas. The possibilities for engagement span all subject matter and truly are multigenerational.”