Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street, is partnering with New York-based learning science company McGraw-Hill Education to launch research-based Sesame content into pre-kindergarten and elementary school classrooms across the US in 2019. According to Sesame, this partnership marks the organization’s largest-ever expansion into classrooms.

The first integrated program— focusing on social-emotional learning skills like empathy, self-awareness and resilience—will incorporate Sesame Street characters and content into McGraw-Hill’s Wonders literacy programs. The new content will be available in English and Spanish, and will be available at no cost to families in a wide array of schools (including high-need Title I schools).

The Sesame-integrated Wonders programs includes videos starring Cookie Monster, Elmo and Big Bird that connect socio-emotional learning with literacy skills and resources for teachers to apply to real-world situations. The program also features weekly newsletters for parents, translated into 10 languages, that extend learning at home with videos and activities designed for families.

The new Sesame-integrated programs will launch in classrooms in the 2019-2020 school year. Additional information on the Wonders literacy program is available online.

Earlier this year, Sesame Workshop upped Michael Levine to the newly created position of chief knowledge officer. As CKO, Levine leads initiatives to develop relationships with educational partners, policymakers, think tanks and academic groups.