| State: California | Number of Students: 3,150 |
| School Type: Public School District | Free and Reduced Lunch: 7.4% |
| Grade Level: PK-12 | English Language Learners: 2.6% |
School Context
21st Century Learning: Identify characteristics of 21st century learning and implement plans to support this type oflearning with online instruction and digital tools.
Find Funding: Get additional financial support to sustain and expand programs.
Community Involvement: Improve content and frequency of communication with students, teachers, parents andcommunity members so that 100% of community is involved in the district’s mission and work.
Building Character: Promote character education, while also figuring out how to support this type of learning within atechnology rich environment.
Assessment Counts: Continually use data to evaluate performance and set goals.
State of Technology
From BYOD to 1:1: Through a mix of a BYOD program and various setsof iPads and netbook carts in each school, Coronado supports a 1:1program. More than 60% of students bring their own device to school.The district provides open access to wifi for students and teachers.
Digital Content: All students and teachers have access to the district’sDigital Content Portal, developed by and purchased from the SanDiego County Office of Education. It stores a virtual library of resourcesthat support students in activities like practicing skills, completingassignments, accessing content and creating projects. However, thedistrict is currently looking for other digital content repositories, such asGooru, that allow teachers to rate and review the content.
Tech Training: The district has prioritized technology training for staffmembers. The support positions called Technology Resource Teachersare responsible for training and developing teachers’ tech skills withineach school. They also support peer tutoring around technology andbuild consistency in how technology, such as docu-cams, projectors andcomputers get integrated across grade level teams.
Charter Creation: The district created its own charter school, CoronadoPathways Charter School, as a research and development lab providingthe district with the best practices around blended learning and theuse of online courses. Coronado Pathways Charter School opened infall 2014 with a hybrid approach. Students will take online courses,and receive face-to-face coaching with teachers on-site with varyingschedules.
Techy Superintendent:Techy Superintendent: Coronado’s current Superintendent has aparticular interest in technology. Jeffrey Felix has a Master’s Degreein Computer Science and Education and earned his doctorate whileresearching social networking and the potential of blogging in theclassroom. Felix continues to be extremely hands-on when it comesto technology in his district, and has been known to work closely withcompanies that sell to him.
Digital Textbooks: Coronado is particularly interested in open educationresources (OER). In 2012, the district supported a group of scienceteachers creating their own digital content for grades 6-8. Using CK-12,these teachers developed content that is now freely available in PDFform. The district continues to fund one full-time position to continuewriting materials and support the deployment of these materials.
Tech Needs & Requirements
Technology tools must be cloud-based and must be device agnostic. All contracts for services (including software licenses andsupport) worth $600 or more must be approved by theBoard. The Superintendent likes to work with smaller companiesthat can develop a close relationship with the district. The district needs platforms for publishing and sharing its digital textbooks and cloud-based service to efficiently store data and have backups that can be used sufficiently.
Initiatives
Making It Personal: The district is in the process of implementing its vision for personalized instruction. The district hopesthis will give students the chance to lead their own learning, giving them choices in how they learn and the resources theyuse.