Lone Star State History -Reflections on Change- Leadership Lessons #SSSAustin2016

Why change when you have been so successful? Think about Blockbuster and Borders … change or – well – you know! – Mike Lubelfeld (via Tweet on 11/5/2016) – (challenge for most people is justifying change – especially in high performing venues)

img_0273I just attended the 52nd annual national conference of the Suburban School Superintendents. Inspired leadership lessons from experts like George Couros, Carl Hooker, Hall Davidson, and others helped my colleagues and I frame, reframe, affirm, reject, think, and plan on many levels. The conference was held in the state capital of Texas – Austin, Texas. Austin is an amazing venue and it formed a powerful backdrop for our journey into innovative and meaningful leadership.

In this blog post I am (hopefully) drawing connections between the rich and diverse history of Texas with the need (in my opinion) for structural changes to public schooling and for innovative instructional practices to become the norm and not the exception. In addition, I am a strong advocate for meeting the needs of ALL learners through integrated practices and not through segregationistic practices that plague CScRi5IWsAAIIv8our school systems at present. The school system we have was built in 1893; just as I do not think Texas should leave our union and become an independent nation (as it was from 1836-1845) I do not think we should remain stuck in a 19th Century mentality with respect to how we “do” school.

file_004-1Texas has a rich and varied history. The image at the left shows the six flags that have flown over Texas since 1519. The flags of Mexico, France, Spain, The Confederate States of America, the Republic of Texas, and the United States of America.

Texas has undergone many changes and innovations in its long and storied history. As times and circumstances changed, so did Texas. As part/parts of two kingdoms, two republics and as an independent nation, Texas has re-iterated, re-designed, transformed, and remained proud, powerful, and unique.

As times and circumstances changed and as technology and technological progress impacted governance and structure for Texas, I wonder why the governance and structure of our nation’s public schools still remain rooted to what many, including myself, consider to be an outdated factory model.

It’s no longer relevant for Texas to be an independent nation (in my opinion) as its place in the USA is what is now just and right for our time. But in the past it was relevant for the Texans to exist as a separate nation. Just like the fact that we no longer use check imprint machines like the one shown (from the old Texas Treasury office) I wonder why we still “do” education in an outdated 19th Century factory model.

file_005Just like technology, progress, and innovation caused us to print and perforate checks more efficiently with technology, and just like the technology, progress, and innovation caused Texas to iterate through six nations, so too, I believe the time is now for education to progress and innovate into new and better structures of organization and implementation.

I often write about personalized learning (which I acknowledge has many interpretations) and meeting the needs of all learners. I study, read, research, reflect, learn and lead based upon the evidence of others’ experiences and work as well as my own experience and work. One of the most read blog posts based on readership statistics, that I ever wrote was about John Hattie’s research findings and the impact of strategies, structures, and practices in education. Often I ask the question “If we know what works, why aren’t we universally doing what works?”

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Based on these readership stats I can conclude or infer that there is interest in the meta analyses and their implications for change and review of schooling. Just as the Battle of San Jacinto, where Sam Houston and his Texan forces defeated the Mexican general Santa Anna and declared independence from Mexico in 1836, the past few years in education have felt like a revolution of sorts.

With so many school districts “going one to one” and infusing technology and technological tools into instruction. The modern realities of progress and change are becoming normal. In addition, with groups like Education Reimagined, change efforts are about to become as normal in our present as fixed rows and desks in the teacher centered design from the 19th Century have been from our past.

The past few years have seen change and change thinking as the norm, and with a major emphasis across the continent on classroom redesign efforts as well as films like Most Likely to Succeed and Beyond Measure challenging the practices of education, it feels in some ways similar to the 1830s when “change agents” like Sam Houston re-created changeimageTexas in a new frame by declaring independence and starting over anew. The Texans did not like the structures imposed upon them and they revolted. Of course I am NOT suggesting armed revolt as an ideal in the public school change process, I use this as an example of change from my recent visit to one of the most significant state capitols in the USA and the fascinating history of the Texan people. I apologize if this is too much of a stretch!

I welcome comments, challenges, affirmations of my ideas, rejection of my ideas, all thoughts are welcome. My charge is to lead and support leadership as the lead learner in the community where I am privledged to serve. Leadership is not doing what’s popular – it’s doing what’s right!

Thank goodness we have outstanding educators in the Deerfield Public Schools District 109 who challenge the process and model the way and who demonstrate the capacities to unlearn that which worked yesterday so that we can create tomorrow.

 

ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER
ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER

 

 

Below I’m sharing some additional images of the majestic Texas Capitol; if you visit Austin, I encourage you to visit and learn about the unique history of Texas.

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Bringing History Alive in DPS109!

 

“Great leaders are ‘engineers’ of belief.”
– Sue Enquist

 

In District 109 we have hundreds of engaging and amazing teachers. We are proud of each and every one of our teachers and students and we take great pride in showcasing and sharing and highlighting their engaging work. We make good and frequent use of our District hashtag on Twitter: #Engage109.

At a recent Board of Education meeting one of our teachers, Tom Craig, made a presentation with students about “new school” approaches to an “old school” report. He and his students showed the Board and community how Google Apps for Education and the Chromebooks support Tom’s engaging pedagogy. His Picture1students showed how a long standing project of a travel brochure has taken on new life and new meaning with the power of the Internet in their hands and with the relevant tools like spreadsheets that allow them, in the words of one of his students, “to complete ginormous math formulas”. Our Board of Education has been hugely supportive of the Future Ready vision and Future Ready focus and they enjoy learning from teachers and students each month.

As an exemplar teacher, Mr. Tom Craig leads learning for students and staff. Currently Tom teaches fourth grade at Wilmot School and he is one of the trailblazing innovative teachers who leads the way for students and staff alike. Tom has had a knack for technology for many years and he was tinkering and pushing the limits with resources long before the District’s 1:1 conversion this year. In fact, he was one of the 1:1 Innovation Grant Winners in 2013! While his Board presentation showcases and highlights the instructional transformation as a result of our move to a 1:1 transformational learning environment, the video below showcases and highlights Tom’s blending the old with the new.

In DPS109 we are fortunate to lease property to the local historical society. There they have an historic village with original and replica 19th Century housing as well as a one room school house. We take pride in the fact that the public schools have been in business since 1847! The Little Red 20150129-215415.jpgSchoolhouse is a live, relevant part of the teaching and learning. Annually our fourth grade students and teachers step back in time and re-enact life/schooling/experiential learning in support of the social studies/history/geography units of study.

Tom like his awesome 4th grade teammates from all four elementary schools in the District do a great service for the students and community alike by taking full advantage of this gem of an historic village! Tom brings learning alive every day and he is a great example of a master veteran teacher who uses technology tools to accelerate learning and who also brings history to life through experiential hands on learning. The video below shows an example of our student learning experiences and Tom’s photographic and technology skills are present as well since the video really looks like it was in the past.

Kudos to Tom who represents his colleagues, and all DPS109 teachers who daily Engage, Inspire, Empower and who bring learning to life!

Engage, Inspire, Empower

Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Share the messages – Realize the Dream!

“The supreme task of a leader is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Monday, January 19, 2015 we celebrate the life, legacy, and heroism of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Celebrations in Deerfield, IL

Celebrations in Highland Park, IL

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is a United States national holiday honoring the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. The holiday is observed each year on the third Monday in January. King’s actual birthday was Jan. 15, 1929. On Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, most government offices and schools close for the day, but many private businesses remain open.
A campaign to establish a holiday honoring King began soon after he was assassinated in 1968. In 1983, Congress made his birthday a federal holiday, first celebrated on Jan. 20, 1986. Today, the holiday is observed by the federal government and by all the states.

Source: Hornsby, A. JR. (2015). Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. In World Book Student. Retrieved from
http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar346823

A recommendation I have is for everyone to share the messages, teachings, precepts and principles espoused by King with their children and with their communities. In this post I share two video excerpts for that purpose. One readily available from You Tube and another excerpt as part of the digital teaching resources from Discovery Education (a partner with Deerfield Public Schools District 109).

I have a Dream Speech Excerpt – from You Tube

I have a Dream Speech Excerpt – Discovery Education (example of digital teaching via video)

While we in the USA have come a long way since 1963 – we still have a long way to go until Dr. King’s dreams are fully realized. An educated youth and an educated populace with morals and values centered in respect, honor, and dignity can set the world free from racism and prejudice!

The transcript of the “I Have a Dream Speech”:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end but a beginning. Those who hoped that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “for whites only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends — so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi — from every mountainside.

Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring — when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children — black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics — will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/27/transcript-martin-luther-king-jr-have-dream-speech/

Dr. Zoul outlines the history of growth and transformation in DPS109

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.  “
– Buddha

Celebrating and communicating growth, leadership and transformation of education! Our own Dr. Zoul, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, is spotlighted as a Project 24 Plan for Progress Leader! I’m reprinting the article here on this blog for all to see, read, learn, and celebrate!

To learn more about the Alliance for Excellent Education, visit: http://all4ed.org/

http://www.plan4progress.org/Page/351

 

Dr. Jeffrey Zoul Name:

Dr. Jeffrey Zoul

   Twitter Handle: @jeff_zoul
   Current Role: Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
   District/Organization: Deerfield Public Schools District 109
   State: Illinois
   Books Authored: Available Here
Share your school/district’s success with digital learning.
We are a K-8 district north of Chicago, with four K-5 schools, two 6-8 schools, and 3100 students total at these six schools. Although we just this year went fully 1:1 for all students in all grades, this was a move we began planning almost a decade ago. We ended up purchasing iPads as the 1:1 device in grades K-2 and Chromebooks as the 1:1 device in grades 3-8. Since planning to move to a district wide 1:1 environment and, subsequently, achieving this goal, we have made strides in teaching and learning that have allowed our teachers to become more empowered to, in turn, empower our students to spend more of their learning time each day engaged in the 4 C’s of 21st Century Learning Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking. In classrooms across our district we have teachers who have transformed their classrooms, designing lessons that are aligned to specific standards but that incorporate instructional practices designed to meet these standards in new and exciting ways. We have teachers and students engaged in Genius Hour activities, Mystery Skype sessions, Virtual Field Trips, 3D printing, Flipped Classroom learning, Blogging, and class Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages to document and share their products and processes. Just this year we also added two new 9-week “exploratory” smart lab classes at our two middle schools, a Communication Media Arts lab and a STEM lab. These two labs replaced our more traditional Technology Applications class and our Family and Consumer Science class. In our new labs, students are focusing on student-centered learning, using a wide variety of digital tools to allow them to explore, engage, elaborate, explain, and evaluate their learning. Through all of these changes, we remain one of the highest-performing districts in the entire State of Illinois, as measured by state and local assessments.

DPSLOGOWhat planning process did you use for implementation?
During the summer of 2005, the Deerfield District 109 Board of Education charged our Superintendent and the administration to examine the uses of technology in student learning and to develop a plan to improve the application of technology into instructional practices to expand learning opportunities for students. The Board of Education’s vision was to create an articulated program of the highest quality that is effectively implemented, fiscally responsible, and one that would prepare students for future use of technology in their work and daily lives. Taking this charge, the administration, teachers, community members, and external consultants began studying the skills and characteristics people will need to live and work in the 21st century. This group examined the challenge of preparing our students for their future and, in 2006, discovered that: “Today’s education system faces irrelevance unless we bridge the gap between how students live and how they learn. Schools are struggling to keep pace with the astonishing rate of change in students’ lives outside of school. Students will spend their adult lives in a multitasking, multi faceted, technology-driven, diverse, vibrant world–and they must arrive equipped to do so.” (Partnership for 21st Century Skills).In 2009, District 109 hired Jill Maraldo as Director of 21st Century Skills. Bringing experience as a classroom teacher, online course developer/instructional designer, and teacher education project manager to the table, this new director was tasked with engaging faculty in the process of developing 21st Century skills into our curriculum. Under the guidance of Ed Coughlin of the Metiri Group, the Deerfield staff began the long process of working together to identify which skills to focus on and how to develop the curriculum, assessments and rubrics to best evaluate these skills. From 2009-2011, the 21st Century Skills Committee met several times to complete this work. The result: a comprehensive plan for integrating 21st Century Skills into the K-8 curriculum in DPS109. The committee, consisting of teachers and administrators from across the district, reviewed and revised their work, striving for continuous improvement and successful implementation and communication to all grade levels. In the 2011-2012 school year, the assessments were finalized and piloted by staff.In November 2010, we began work on the three year Technology Integration Plan (TIP) required by the Illinois State Board of Education. This process engaged teachers, administrators and parents in to development of a comprehensive three-year plan. This plan’s mission was as follows: District 109’s vision is to leverage technology that encourages student achievement in a safe, collaborative environment. Innovative technology will be seamless throughout the district, allowing teachers to differentiate instruction in order to enhance individual achievement. Students will integrate 21st Century Skills of global awareness, self-directed learning, visual media literacy, information literacy, critical thinking and creativity and innovation into their daily learning which, through technology, can continue outside of the classroom, creating connected, global citizens. Telecommunications and IT will be used to track student progress and growth, provide timely interventions and help improve student achievement both throughout and beyond the years of the plan. We will build capacity to address the needs of all learners (including special education students)through the use of innovative technology hardware, software and telecommunication.AEE-logoUsing this mission and goal as a framework for decisions, the District continued to make purchases and to conduct professional development to support student achievement and fulfill the mission and vision of the plan. During the 2011-2012 school year, students and staff began to struggle with gaining access to their work electronically and having a viable solution for collaboration and communication using our current technology solutions. Simply stated, we had outgrown some of our current technology solutions and the students and staff asked for new options. Out of this call for help, a new technology committee was formed.The committee met several times during the 2011-2012 school year to study and evaluate different solutions. We reached out to surrounding school districts and sought the input of students, parents and staff in order to find the best solution for District 109.In January/February 2012, the committee recommended that two solutions be piloted , data collected and teachers and students provide feedback on the choices before a final decision was made. The Technology Review Committee studied the issues and recommended that the district pilot Google Apps for Education and Microsoft 365 as two possible solutions to meet our District’s collaborative communication needs. The pilot took place during the months of April and May 2012.The DPS109 Technology Review Committee met for the final time that school year. During that meeting, the team carefully reviewed the survey results and data that had been collected throughout the course of the Pilot period. Over 60 teachers and over 900 students piloted Google Apps for Education and Microsoft 365 for two months. During the pilot, the Technology Coordinators, Net 56 and I provided training and support for the pilot teachers and students. Teachers were able to integrate the new tools into their lessons and trial various collaborative features throughout several curricular areas. The results of these efforts were recorded in survey and anecdotal reports, which were all presented to the committee.

June 2012 The results were overwhelmingly in favor of Google Apps for Education. Both the teachers and the students expressed a strong desire to move forward with Google Apps for Education over Microsoft 365 as the collaborative solution for Deerfield 109.

2012-2013 This school year has seen several exciting advancements in the ability of our students and staff to communicate and collaborate. With the rollout of Google Apps for all staff right after the new year, our students and staff have already created over 15 thousand documents, with and average number of collaborators of two or more. This meant that our students, only four months after rolling out Google Apps for Education, were applying the 21st century skills of communication and collaboration on a daily basis her in Deerfield 109.

In October 2012, it was time to present the new purchase plan to the Board of Education Technology Committee . During this meeting several options were presented to the Board regarding mobile devices and laptop computers. The need to purchase additional devices that would support future assessments was also discussed. With the use of MAP testing which is computer-based and the coming of the computer-based PARCC assessments which will replace ISAT in 2015, the District needed to decide which devices would best support student learning. The Board committee worked together and directed the District administration to research alternative solutions that other school districts were trying, including BYOD ( Bring Your Own Device) and other 1:1 initiatives using Chromebooks , iPads, PC laptops and other tablets.

After careful study and consideration, this study group found that a 1:1 option using Chromebooks and tablets would be a beneficial direction for our school district and meet the needs of our students and staff. Several options were then presented to the Board Technology Committee in February 2013 and they decided that a conservative rollout of Chromebooks and tablets over a few years would be the best options for the district at this time. Therefore, at the March Board meeting, we presented a purchase recommendation of 700 Chromebooks and 450 tablets to be used throughout the district. Stay tuned to this blog for future technology and 21st Century Skills updates.

The 2013-14 school year brought our district a new superintendent and assistant superintendent for teaching and learning. These two leaders immediately expanded the 1:1 pilot awarding “Innovation Grants” to 21 teachers who expressed an interest in piloting a 1:1 classroom starting in January 2014. After this successful pilot, the Board of Education ultimately voted in May 2014 to go fully 1:1 in all classrooms across the district.

Which Project 24 Gears were most relevant in your implementation?
Although each of the seven Project 24 gears are extremely important and relevant to all stakeholders in our district, the gear which we have most focused on during the past 24 months of 1:1 implementation is that of Professional Learning. Although we have many teachers who were 100% ready and willing to move forward teaching in a 1:1 environment, we also had many who were not at all confident and/or excited about doing so. We have instituted a number of professional learning opportunities to ensure that every teacher in the district understands our expectation to move forward with digital teaching and learning as a way to fulfill our mission of engaging, inspiring, and empowering all students every day. We also, however, insist on supporting each teacher in the district so they are able to meet this expectation, continuously moving from their personal point of current efficacy to their next point along the spectrum. We have created an optional, after-school professional learning structure we call, “Deerfield College.” Many of these courses focus on teaching in a 21st century classroom and using digital tools to increase efficiency and effectiveness as a teacher. These courses are taught by teachers, coaches, and administrators in the district who are experiencing success in a certain area. We also hold an annual Teaching & Learning Conference districtwide in which we hold 80 sessions throughout a day of professional learning from which staff can choose several to attend. We also have two “iCoaches” in place at each school, who are instructional coaches focusing on digital teaching and learning in addition to more traditional instructional coaching. These coaches often offer “Lunch and Learn” opportunities for teachers to attend to learn about some aspect of teaching with tech tools. In addition, we have a districtwide Twitter hashtag (#engage109) which we use to promote success in our classrooms across the district.

What was your biggest challenge in implementation?
The biggest challenges have been the management of the iPads due to the fact that Apple has made several changes with requirements for students under the age of 13 and the ongoing challenge of ensuring we are providing appropriate and differentiated professional learning support to all staff.

What has been your greatest success?
Our greatest success has been teacher support of our 1:1 initiative. If you walk into any of these classrooms, no matter what level of technology proficiency our teachers may have, students are using the devices in class which has increased their level of engagement. We have contracted with Bright Bytes to periodically survey staff, student, and parents about our 1:1 implementation and while all three stakeholder groups report positive responses thus far, our students are the most positive about our move to a 1:1 environment.

What advice do you have for others looking to implement something similar?
Talk to other districts that have gone before where you are intending to go. Solicit input of students, staff, and parents every step of the way. Focus on pedagogy, not technology; it is not about the device, but about instruction. How can the technology/device support instruction and learning? Provide plenty of ongoing support for all teachers; have most of this support come from in-house “experts,” those who are already succeeding and can lead others to success.

How can people find out more about your efforts?
Anyone interested can contact me via Twitter (@jeff_zoul), or email (jzoul (at) dps109.org), or my blog (jeffzoul.blogspot.com).

We are Future Ready!

Engage 109 Podcast 3 with Jenny Miltimore

In DPS109 we are committed to the success of all learners – youth and adults. About every week Dr. Zoul and I are celebrating the engaging, inspiring, and empowering work of a member of the DPS109 faculty and staff. This week we interview Mrs. Jenny Miltimore, @JLMILTI on Twitter, who identifies some special features of historic Wilmot school and the trailblazing efforts of Jenny and her classroom.

Please take a few minutes and listen to wonderful work that Jenny does each and every day – this is representative of the outstanding work of the many fabulous teachers and staff members in DPS109.