Preparing for Next Year

The financial part of the EdTech Plan for next year was approved by the School Board last evening, and I couldn't be happier! We will be finishing up projects from this year, including upgrading our network with switches, servers, new Internet filter, more Internet bandwidth, and also the replacement of three computer labs; and then we will transition right into updated alternative high school/credit recovery software, updated and expanded ELL software, and updated middle school Family and Consumer Science software. We're adding five Chromebook labs, replacing an old laptop lab with Chromebooks, adding ten more Chromebooks, and adding a few interactive white boards, projectors, and document cameras. We're also going to beef up our wireless and replace our current email system with Gmail. Finally, when we move into the end of next school year, we will replace the elementary teachers' computers with laptops, and replace three mobile labs of computers with new equipment.

Thanks to our teachers who are working so hard to get technology into the hands of students to improve their learning. Their dedication to teaching and learning in new ways is truly amazing. It's always so exciting to work on plans for coming years when you know the teachers are with you. As long as we keep asking, "What's best for kids?," I don't think we can go wrong. I am proud to be a part of the Storm Lake Schools where we are all working very hard to maximize the learning of every student.