Laura Close
Founder + President
Close Education was born from my personal experience with the dream and mission that all learners of any age can and must be reached. I have a 25-year history of working in education with a variety of educational technology publishers. However, my truest education came from raising two children who struggled with dyslexia. My passion and commitment to helping all learners in the world, like my children, are what motivate me. I get to share that drive and energy with my team at Close Education each and every day.”
As Founder and President of Close Education, Laura Close, has been working with Indiana School Districts implementing reading and technology instructional solutions for almost three decades. She carries a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Indiana University and has worked at several of the leading educational technology companies throughout her career. Her experiences and interests have taken her beyond the selling of technology, focusing on the diagnostics, implementations, and tracking of truly successful instruction.
COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is changing how Education exists. As educational leaders are navigating these uncertain times and new circumstances, Close Education is already established and poised to support you when the timing is right. We know the schools, teachers, and parents face many obstacles and priorities. Close Education provides online instructional tools and teacher support to bridge the gap between traditional platforms and our new remote learning environments. We offer webinars for data analysis and help so administrators and teachers can successfully implement these programs as a distance learning tool. Thank you again for the opportunity to partner with you. Please take care of yourself and your family. We will be here when you need us.
2020 APPROVED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PARTNER
Close Education and Mindplay met the evidentiary requirements per the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) to serve as a School Improvement Technical Assistance Partner (TAP). Please read through the press release here.
HOW CLOSE EDUCATION WORKS AND HELPS
Close Education is a WBE-certified, Indiana-based, woman-owned business. Our mission is to bring Indiana schools and students the most effective instructional technology solutions available. Personalized instruction is made available to all learners, pre-K through adults, in the areas of Reading, Math, and Social-Emotional Learning. We partner with software companies to make available programs specializing in adaptive instructional technology that harnesses sophisticated A.I. (artificial intelligence) to provide targeted instruction for every individual student. Measurable and sustainable results allow all levels of students to make gains in hours instead of years.
INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Close Education is an Approved Targeted Assistance Provider through the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). This relationship enables us to partner with schools by implementing online instructional tools to target learning and provide extended learning time. We focus on professional development through data analysis by using data to drive teacher-led instruction. With approval through the IDOE as a Universal and Level 1 screener for dyslexia, our assessment is online and efficient, providing scores in all six required areas in approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
HOW CLOSE EDUCATION CAME TO BE
Laura Close is the President and Founder of Close Education, which has been working with Indiana school districts for over 25 years, delivering reading and technology instructional solutions. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Indiana University and has experience working for some of the leading educational technology companies. Through Close Education, she has taken her skills beyond the selling of technology into her passion for focusing on diagnostics, implementations, and tracking of instructional programs that truly work.
As a mother of two, both growing up with various forms of dyslexia, Laura has seen first-hand how the right educational technology can change a child’s life. With specific credit to MindPlay for helping both of her children, she proudly totes that after five years of struggling with dyslexia, her son became a proficient reader in only seven months.
Now, armed with her education and both personal and professional experience, Laura works with a small dedicated team of individuals who share her passion for helping the education system. All students of any age with any development or learning issues can take advantage of an exceptional way to improve and excel in reading, math, and social interaction. Close Education is the best opportunity for school administration, teachers, and parents to help students of any age navigate learning obstacles and achieve success.
DYSLEXIA
Though dyslexia is not the only learning issue that Close Education helps to breakthrough, it is one of the most common and sadly the most overlooked and misunderstood. Close Education brings together software that uses A.I. to assess and provide information to help professionals make informed decisions. Mindplay also has an instructional component that affords learners the amount of practice and duration of time to drive underlying skills and linguistic processes into automaticity. Progress and mastery of skills are easily measured and analyzed. Individuals of all ages who suffer from dyslexia can learn to read. Mindplay helps those with dyslexia achieve reading fluency in hours, not years!