Scarsdale Middle School set up its first MacBook cart in 2001, its first iPad cart in 2012, and its first Chromebook cart in 2013. Today, nearly sixty mobile carts provide Middle School students with the majority of their access to computing resources. Beginning in September 2014, teachers on house teams and Center departments in all three grades have had the opportunity to identify and gain experience designing student work on all three platforms.
CHOICE has served as the school's (and district's) extended pilot of 1:1 resources for over 5 years, with students using iPads in school and at home for most of that time. Working closely with CHOICE faculty and students, computer teachers and staff have had the opportunity to develop the practices that allow the program to thrive. More recently, we are supporting a team-wide iPad pilot with one sixth grade cohort.
Over the same period, the faculty has undertaken a careful study of student computing, identifying the kind of work teachers assign, including how these experience correlate with long-standing school and district goals for student computing. Teachers were surveyed not only about their preferences for 1:1 devices but also about issues related to teaching and learning in a 1:1 environment. Students -- especially students in pilot programs -- have also been surveyed. Faculty discussion has taken place at staff meetings, computer committee meetings, department meetings and team meetings.
During the 2017-2018 academic year, a team including the Middle School's computer teachers and principal, as well as the district's Director of Technology and Innovation and the district's Apple Specialist visited five districts in the region. The site visit team learned valuable lessons about device choice, deployment, configuration, support and, above all, the impact of this work on teaching and learning.
In January 2018, it was decided that the technology budget for the 2018-2019 school year would include funding for a 1:1 iPad program, beginning with grade six students.