District CIO

Districts and decision makers recognize the importance of leveraging educational data to make informed decisions that support student academic success. District leaders know that the benefits of gathering educational data are wide ranging—from helping to track student improvement to monitoring specific yearly financial expenditures.

Seventh and eighth graders in Oregon schools will get a welcome amenity next year when classes start. The board of education approved a technology lease with Apple Inc. that will put iPads in the hands of every middle school student.

The East Grand School District (Granby, Colo.) Board of Education is on track to pose a mill-levy ballot question in the November election. The tax will support technology maintenance and upgrades for all schools in the district.

Shortly after his world history students began a pilot program testing a digital textbook for the iPad, Ken Halla noticed something different: His students were actually reading their textbooks.

A small, southeast Kansas school district whose superintendent became a true believer after visiting an Illinois school is doing away with textbooks and paper tests in favor of all-digital instruction.

Digital media students at Layton (Utah) High School were paid for a job well done at their sixth annual film festival recently. The end-of-school-year videos were submitted to a panel of judges prior to the festival, and the best videos were put on display, with winners receiving cash awards and gifts donated by local businesses.

At a cost of about $100,000 per year for devices and infrastructure, Marshall (Minn.) Middle School is investing more in technology than most schools in the Marshall Public Schools district.

Ronald Durso, the district supervisor of science & technology and engineering education for the Fair Lawn Public Schools, was honored recently by the New Jersey Technology and Engineering Education Association at its annual conference.

An independent report of the Waltham public schools’ technology and library programs revealed both positive and negative findings, and raises eyebrows from school officials about the method in which the report was conducted.

This past school year has been less hectic for busy juniors and seniors at Hempfield High School, thanks to a new, online course-sharing initiative. The Hempfield School District, outside Lancaster, is one of three rural Pennsylvania districts that have implemented Open Campus PA, a program that shares high school teachers and allows participating students to take online classes on their own time.