Classrooms of the future coming to Schuyler-Industry
Students to learn with iPads, MacBooks and digital curriculum
Wednesday: Community Unit School District 5 school board to vote on partnership with Pearson 1:1 Learning
for major tech move to help teachers prepare every student for college and careers
Rushville, IL (May 23, 2012) — Committed to preparing students for success from home room to the board room, Schuyler-Industry Superintendent Mathew Plater will ask the school board Wednesday to approve a major partnership with Pearson’s 1:1 Learning that will help begin the 1,200-student district’s shift to digital learning.
The Schuyler-Industry Community Unit School District 5 school board will on Wednesday hear details of a proposed partnership with Pearson 1:1 Learning that would overhaul the traditional classroom. If the partnership is approved, teachers will be trained to incorporate technology into their day-to-day instruction and customize lesson plans based on student achievement data, which will be available in real-time as students are working on assignments. The school board will see a live demonstration of the technology at work from high school English teacher Tonya Woods at Wednesday’s meeting. The board will meet at 7 p.m. at the Rushville-Industry High School Library, 730 N. Congress, Rushville, IL 62681.
All teachers in the four schools that make up Schuyler-Industry CUSD 5 received mobile devices last week. Kindergarten through 4th grade teachers received iPads, and 5th through 12th grade teachers received MacBook Air laptops.
The district’s 91 teachers will attend an all-day training session Wednesday to learn how to work with the devices and the teachers will start using them in the classroom next fall. Starting in the fall of 2013, all students in grades 5-12 will receive MacBook Air laptop computers. The district’s existing personal computers will be moved down to the elementary schools for students in Kindergarten through 4th grade. Elementary schools will learn with the help of Pearson’s Reading Street program, available in digital format for students to learn from the interactive program on computers and iPads.
“We’re still teaching in an antiquated system; the job world doesn’t work that way anymore,” said Superintendent Plater. “Today, we must focus on critical thinking, not simply memorizing facts. The excitement is about moving teaching to that critical thinking model. Mobile devices and digital curriculum will prepare our students for future success, and I feel we owe it to our students to be ahead of the curve and make this leap.”
Pearson’s 1:1 Learning applies a research-based 1:1 Learning Framework to help districts successfully start and run mobile learning programs. Pearson 1:1 Learning will provide Schuyler-Industry CUSD 5 with training to help teachers and staff with the shift to digital learning. Pearson will help put the program into effect, including helping to plan and manage the massive project and providing a robust digital curriculum and student achievement and assessment systems.
“Educators at Schuyler-Industry are preparing to meet students in the digital environment where they live, using technology to enrich the learning experience in a way never before possible,” said Scott Drossos, Senior Vice President of Pearson’s 1:1 Learning. “We will be working side by side with Mr. Plater and his team to help Schuyler-Industry schools make the move to digital as they prepare students for college and the technology-driven workforce of tomorrow. CUSD 5 is leading the charge to provide classroom tools and skills to children that will prepare them for the competitive, knowledge-driven careers that await them.”
Pearson 1:1 Learning works closely with school districts making the transition to digital learning with instructional programs on laptops, iPads, and other devices. Educators can use interactive texts, videos, animations and other features in digital instructional programs to provide more dynamic, personalized lessons with assessment tools that determine in real-time each student’s level of performance to help teachers quickly identify academic strengths and weaknesses.
Pearson offers a wide range of mobile learning solutions for schools like those in Schuyler-Industry CUSD 5. Pearson’s digital learning programs are built on decades of expertise and research in effective teaching and learning and are aligned with the new Common Core standards. More than 300 of Pearson’s instructional programs in math, reading, science and other subjects for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade include etexts now available for classrooms. The etexts are highly adaptive to each student’s learning needs and include features to digitally highlight, take notes, bookmark, quickly look up definitions, link to relevant topics, get audio and video support, and more.
Lisa Kinney
Director of Public Relations
Drive West Communications
219.713.3245 mobile
281.888.3603 office
