Rollout is an exciting time for the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools community, as students receive their devices for the school year. Rollout also marks the beginning of a journey for the 52 Cohort 6 schools that will be able to embark on new learning opportunities that are not possible without technology.
The Verizon Innovative Learning Schools initiative—made possible by a partnership between Digital Promise and Verizon—works to bridge the Digital Learning Gap by equipping every student and teacher at 152 middle schools across the country with devices and up to a four-year data plan. In addition to technology and access, Verizon Innovative Learning Schools receive extensive teacher training, support, and the opportunity to engage in a unique, immersive curriculum to leverage technology in their classrooms.
“My vision is that not only are our tech courses cutting edge, but our math class, our science class, our English class [are] leveraging that technology to increase the engagement, to increase learning within that classroom,” said James Allrich, the principal at Argyle Middle School in Silver Spring, Maryland, as his school prepared to distribute iPads to its 1,030 students.
“Being part of the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, we are really reconsidering how we engage students in our classes every day,” said Argyle’s Verizon Innovative Learning Schools coach, Cortney Chao. “[It] helps us rethink how we’re planning, how we’re communicating with each other, and how students see themselves in the classroom.”
“When I tell students that I’m going to do anything I can to help them be successful in school, I know that I have the tools to make that happen,” added ESOL and world languages content specialist Hannah Turner.
Watch the video below to see how Argyle celebrated rollout. To learn more about Verizon Innovative Learning Schools, visit verizon.digitalpromise.org.
