| State: Massachusetts | Number of Students: 3,521 |
| School Type: Public School District | Free and Reduced Lunch: 10.0% |
| Grade Level: PK-12 | English Language Learners: 4.2% |
State of Technology
1:1 iPads for All: During the 2011-2012 school year, Burlington Public School District began the initial phase of its 1:1 iPad initiativeby deploying iPads to all high school students. Since then, the initiative has expanded. Currently, every student in grades 1-12 isprovided with an iPad to use in school. At the high school level, students are also permitted to take their iPads home. The devicesare used to support instruction through apps, web-based software and eBooks.
Putting Professional Learning First: In an effort to encourage educators to share knowledge with their colleagues, the district’stechnology team gives them the opportunity to teach each other. In bi-monthly workshops, teachers share their own strategieson topics such as classroom management apps and software recommendations to increase student engagement. The districtalso hosts an annual three-day conference at the start of each school year called BPSCON to prepare teachers for technologyintegration.
Students Running The Show: Burlington Public Schools offers several opportunities for students to take center stage. Whetherit’s through student-run IT support from elementary to high school, or in Maker Labs, the district is looking for ways to empowerstudents. Through an elective course at the high school level, students provide IT support for the entire school, while also spending20% of their time working on projects they are passionate about. At the middle school level, students perform the same serviceduring an activity block, and elementary students take part in after-school sessions to begin practicing their IT skills. Additionally,middle school students have a 3D printing activity block. During this block, students can decide what projects they want to work onand which types of products they wish to create.
Tech Needs & Requirements
Technology tools must be compatible on iOS and no be a flash-based app. The district needs tools that can support professional development, provide response to intervention tools for grades K-5 that help manage data aroundinterventions and support benchmarking, and provide digital reading tools.
Initiatives
This year, the middle school is piloting LightSail as a digital reading tool tosupport close reading and preparation for the Common Core State Standards. Itis exploring other tools as well, including MyOn.