Sequoia Union High School District

Sequoia Union High School District

The district is clearly taking advantage of its location in Silicon Valley, as every school has both computer science and engineering courses.

State: California Number of Students: 9,762
School Type: Public School District Free and Reduced Lunch: 35.9%
Grade Level: 9-Adult English Language Learners: 14.7%

School Context

Strong Instruction: Sequoia High School District believes that strong instruction is critical to student success. This includesteaching basic skills, setting high expectations to help students maximize their potential and using continuous assessments.

Safe and Consistent School Environment: The district aims for all schools to provide a safe school environment with consistentroutines that support a positive school community.

Infrastructure and Resources: The district will maintain strong infrastructure to support their educational and business needs.

Strong Support System: SUHSD aims to provide the necessary support and guidance to ensure that all stakeholders usetechnology productively and to support learning. This includes supporting teachers in integrating technology into theircurriculum.


State of Technology

A Shift to Google Apps for Education: SUHSD had been using Groupwisee-mail and calendars since 1997, but after a survey in which teachers voicedsubstantial interest in shifting to Google Apps for Education, the districtdecided to make a change. They migrated over to Google Apps in summer2014. Since then the district has hosted their own Google Summit and plansto continue to put energy behind ensuring a healthy adoption of these toolsamong teachers.

Two Is Better Than One: The district is working this year to wire everystudent classroom with two wireless access points, in preparation of a BringYour Own Device policy in the coming years. The district will ensure that thenetwork is robust enough to support all students before it opens it up to aflood of students trying to connect.

Make It Chrome: The district recently purchased 1,600 Chromebooks tosupport Google Apps for Education. It most recently used the devices in asuccessful execution of the Common Core field tests in spring 2014.

Prioritizing PD: The district is focusing all professional development aroundCommon Core implementation and how to use technology to support it. Thedistrict plans to also provide additional professional development by givingteachers the opportunity to sign up for the Leading Edge Digital EducatorsCertificate. For teachers who successfully take and complete these onlinecourses, the district will give them an additional five Chromebooks for theirclassroom.

Bio + Tech: Sequoia Union High School District is situated in the middleof Silicon Valley, surrounded by the tech and biotech industries, and it isclearly taking advantage of the location. It’s no surprise that every school inthe district has both computer science and engineering courses, supportedby Oracle. In addition, Carlmont High School supports a biotech programthat gives students access to special classes, internships, guest speakersand lectures once a month, thanks to partnerships with companies such asGenentech.

Mobile App Class: Facebook plans to fund a mobile-application developmentclass at Sequoia High School. The class will incorporate programming anddesign. Facebook also donated 50 new Apple laptops to launch the class.


Tech Needs & Requirements

District needs all-in-one computer stations.


Initiatives

Developing distributed audio systems in classrooms

Building collaborative areas within classrooms

Professional development to support digital teaching techniques

*Content From 2015

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