Every classroom is equipped with a smartboard. As students transition into kindergarten they are given access to iPads that they can access in school, and as they continue from grade 6 to 12, they are given iPads for at-home learning as well. “We wanted to give students the ability to communicate with each other and to be able to replace many of their textbooks with technology,” explains Director of Finance, Operations, and Technology Mr. Warren McCallum. While students certainly enjoy greater learning efficiency and access, the best benefit of the district’s focus on tech integration has to be the overall improvement in its ability to monitor student progress across a range of categories. Programs like Panorama and SAEBERS (Social academic and emotional behavior risk screener) help teachers and district leaders alike to monitor the social-emotional well-being of their students. Additionally, Schoology, the district’s main learning management system, helps to communicate and monitor overall academic performance. As students provide feedback, these programs help predict possible future obstacles, unique to the individual, that may need early intervention. The result has been a drastically simplified and tailored experience where students have the support they need and teachers have the autonomy to provide that support at a moment’s notice. And of course, Norwell’s push to integrate technology into its operation is just as holistic as its strategy as it has also made capital investments in district infrastructure to facilitate those efforts. The district is currently in the process of renovating its entire Wi-Fi infrastructure to handle the added bandwidth. It’s added a multitude of internal cameras and buzz-in style security doors in its schools and also benefits from participation in a solar program that has granted incredible savings on district-wide energy expenses. While the more physically oriented investments 398 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 BUSINESS VIEW AGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 01
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