AsylumText is a growing developer of grade K–12 educational materials. We provide editorial, design, and production services across the curriculum and at all grade levels. Asylum’s work enriches the products and programs of publishers, media companies, and educational tech groups.
AT invests in research into effective on-screen instruction.
“Asylum’s work on Astronomy [gr. 6–8] was excellent, and BBC is exploring further opportunities for their concept.”
Sanctuary of Quality
AsylumText offers educational publishers a refuge from misfires and mediocrity. The sanctuary stands on outstanding content and deft management.
AT staff has decades of experience at publishers, schools, media firms, and cultural institutions. We bring writers, editors, educators, designers, filmmakers, storytellers, and publishing executives together in a generous and creative environment.
We have expertise in STEM and Humanities, from K–2 Reading to Calculus. AT also builds phenomena-based instruction (AGEMSOFT), along with English Language Development support that wins praise (ACCOLADES: HMH, Twig). And we make any schedule work.
AT brings a passion for effective education. Because we understand what’s at stake.
“No developer I know understands and cares more about the quality of educational content than AsylumText.”
AsylumText, founded in 2014 by Ron Ottaviano in New York City, formed amid colleagues and friends from publishing houses and public schools, design studios and academic institutions. Since then, we’ve successfully completed more than 75 K–12 projects—and contributed to scores of products that educate millions of students. (PORTFOLIO)
AT’s directors work with talented contributors in a collaboration that has deepened over time. The resulting cohesion lends solidity to our work.
AT limits overhead on workspace. Well before the pandemic, we headed toward a virtual workforce. Our model focuses more resources on the quality of content rather than the overhead of infrastructure. (See Approach, below.)
“AT’s staff—whether writers, editors, copy editors, proofreaders—is top-notch and very dependable.”
AsylumText differs from most educational developers in two ways: support of contributors and commitment to social justice—that is, the right of all students to first-rate education. We support open sources and adjust to a market that often squeezes the value of content.
Big school-publishers face sales pressure. Rushed vendors hurl projects at freelancers, asking them to plumb knotty guidelines at scant wages. Uninspired work results. Offshore production-machines can further erode editorial quality. Meanwhile, publishers grapple with reflecting the inequities and injustices students see in the world.
AT addresses these issues. We avoid top-heaviness, shifting more resources into forethought. We guide our tested teams with “content recipes”—samples by subject matter experts (SMEs), annotated prototypes, rich feedback. And we take time to answer questions.
AT has honed our work in helping kids through social challenges, unlocking meaning for ELs, and supporting students with special education needs. And if a client chooses, we can ensure that the publisher’s voice imparts crucial values in challenging times.
AsylumText has created core Reading and ELA components for major publishers (as subcontractor) and smaller firms (as vendor). Across levels, we’ve created scores of ancillaries—from TEs and readers to workbooks and assessments. (PORTFOLIO)
AT has developed social studies and history products across levels. We have successfully effected state customizations of best-selling programs, providing all services, from gap analysis to map creation to image rights/permissions. (PORTFOLIO)
AT is committed to science literacy. We have focused on concepts and processes in a middle school program. And we have refined our touch with NGSS in a basal core components, a recent trio of online high school courses, and a middle school program. (PORTFOLIO)
In a hurry? AT’s math team can hustle while enhancing numeracy. In four months in 2019, we developed 1,800 high school student- and teacher-facing pages for a major publisher. More recently, we developed a wide range of assessments. (PORTFOLIO)
AsylumText has kept abreast of research emerging from academic studies of English Language Development. Our contribution to teacher support for ELs has been singled out by publishers such as HMH and Twig Education (ACCOLADES). AT has also refined and enriched our work in Social Emotional Learning and Special Educational Needs, earning plaudits for our SEL features in an online/blended-learning science program for homeschool students. (PORTFOLIO)
