IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Fall 2017 | Page 60

Brentwood
Borough
School
District
SUPERINTENDENT’S
M E S S A G E
BY DR . AMY M. BURCH
In July, the Brentwood Borough School District embarked
on a new journey with the adoption of the District Technology
Plan. The planning process began in August 2016 and was a
collaborative effort, representing the views of students, parents,
teachers, administrators, and community members. As we
navigated the process, we felt firmly that implementing a device
plan was not our goal. Rather, we were looking to enhance
learning by promoting global awareness in our students,
transforming the vehicles of learning to achieve deeper levels of
understanding, and creating personalized learning pathways.
Throughout the next five years, students will investigate and
evaluate a wide variety real world experiences made available
with the implementation of our plan. It is no longer sufficient
to have the teacher serve as the content master dispensing
information to students. We recognize that students must be an
active participant in the learning process. We are looking forward
expanding the pockets of digital learning experiences already
taking place in our District to all grade levels and all subjects.
At the elementary level, initiatives such as Imagination Station
for Innovation (IS4I), provide opportunities for students to
explore project-based programming at the most basic levels.
Students have used various tools and equipment to design
houses, animals, and structures that create solutions or model
concepts. IS4I has been showcased during ReMake Learning
Days, where our students swapped with another district to
collaborate and share in the learning process. Our intent is to
offer a curriculum in which students use computing programs
and languages to create innovative products in a way that relates
to their understanding of the world.
Moreover, at the secondary level, we continue to evaluate
courses of study in order to prepare students for college and
careers. Our engineering and communications programs
58 Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall
epitomize STEAM learning. With the upcoming World Finals F1
competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, our students are able
to explore the world and learn about countless career-paths
and areas of study. In addition, we will be introducing a new
computer science course, AP Computer Science Principles,
which will give our students exposure to game design and
fundamental programming which is essentially a global
language.
In order to continue fostering this transformational learning
shift, professional development must be available to the
teaching staff. The skills and talents of each teacher vary and will
require a wide range of options for furthering their expertise.
The expectation will be to apply the newly acquired skills into
daily lesson planning.
Over the next five years the design of the technology spaces
will change dramatically as well. Historically, the students have
traveled to a lab to work on desktop computers. Traditional
computer labs will be phased out in favor of mobile digital
resources. For the 2017-2018 school year the District will
be receiving one new cart at each elementary building to
compliment the devices already in use. At the middle school,
three new carts containing 96 devices will be introduced. At the
high school level, the newly added computer science course will
receive a set of 32 new devices and 10 new computers for the
TED room. As a result of the new devices, the annex computer
lab will be decommissioned and the room will be repurposed.
Finally, 11 convertible devices will be added to enable district
administrators more mobility throughout the schools.
As with any new journey, there will be obstacles and
challenges, but we are confident that through open
communication and collaboration we will move the Brentwood
Borough School District forward in the digital age.