Nimitz MS Brings Personal Touch to Tech Deployment

By David Billett
Virtual Learning Complex Facilitator

When it comes to taking ownership of the Common Core Technology Project, Nimitz really has no limits! Rather than participate in CCTP’s centralized device deployment forteachers in March, Principal Miguel Sáenz and members of the Phase 2 middle school’s leadership team created their own. They have invested their expertise, time, and imagination to develop an iPad deployment and ongoing professional development that is personalized, differentiated, and practical. Teachers left their initial Saturday onboarding and professional development event prepared to integrate their iPads on Monday morning. 

“Our own personal, on-site deployment made for a more personal, school-site focus and a way to take ownership,” said Maria Camarena, leadership team member who teaches eighth grade math. “We emphasized school-wide use of certain apps and online services.” For example, she said, they focused on ISIS for attendance, Jupiter Grades for immediate parent and student access to academic progress, and teacher and student email to facilitate cooperation and collaboration.  

Having the PDs at Nimitz and in teachers’ own classrooms put teachers at ease, added math teacher Angelica Salazar. “We hope that this approach will help foster teamwork and serve as a foundation for our professional learning community,” she said. “We have found that our own deployment has made the iPad rollout more meaningful and accessible to our teachers, and greatly reduced the fear factor of using new technology.”

More than 100 teachers participated in the deployment and professional development events, which were offered on two Saturdays, with small-group make-up sessions for those who were unable to attend. A survey of teachers showed extremely positive experiences. The school’s 1,958 students received iPads in late April. 

“I give our leadership team an ‘A+’ for knowledge, effort and preparation for our deployment and PD,” Sáenz said. “They worked extremely hard to develop procedures and steps to ensure iPads will be used in the classrooms as an extension of good teaching – not a ‘foreign object.’”

An important factor in deciding to tailor deployment and professional development to the school was the participation of Salazar and two other Nimitz teachers, Erika Rey and Diana Amador, in the Math Summer Institute at CSU-Dominguez Hills. Since 2009, Camarena has facilitated sessions at the Institute, and she used many of the same strategies she learned there, such as small learning groups, focusing on a limited number of apps, and providing hands-on learning time during the sessions. 

The CSUDH Institute also provided participants with a stipend, materials and an iPad. This gave the Nimitz organizers the idea of handing teachers a full package: an iPad in a bag with support materials, accessories, and a stylus. The three used their own money for the bags and styluses. nimitz2

“The iPad bag we handed out didn’t take much time for all of us to prepare, but it made our PD move much more smoothly,” Camarena said, adding that the iPad bags helped make the event much more personal.

“We hope teachers will begin to embrace our new technology and take advantage of all the apps and online services have to offer,” Salazar said. “We hope our peers will feel comfortable integrating the technology, and comfortable approaching us for support.”

During the deployment planning process, Wilson Gin, RSP teacher, stepped up to work on a student agreement for iPad use. This contract is a set of clear expectations, and is in place before students get to use their iPads. Leadership team members said this will be one of the critical pieces in ensuring the program’s success. Teachers also signed agreements. 

At the core of the leadership are four math teachers – Camarena, Salazar, Erika Rey, and Diana Amador; Technology Coordinator Marcelo Torrico; and Magnet Coordinator José Pérez. Their initiative and the significant professional responsibility required to design and deliver comprehensive onboarding and professional development events replaced the much larger, centralized, and less personalized opportunity offered by the CCTP. By initiating this project, the leadership team provided a more relevant, differentiated and personalized experience to introduce a radical shift in teaching and learning at Nimitz Middle School. 
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Before the initial onboarding and professional development event, the leadership team designed and administered a faculty survey to self-assess technology proficiency, accurately gauging the skill level of professional development of professional development to be offered. After interpreting the survey results, the leadership team designed and plannedprofessional development to meet specific needs of teachers as learners. 

First, an onboarding professional development session on March 22 included device basics; two weeks later, the school paid teachers who chose to attend an advanced session. By modeling exemplary practice and professional behavior, these events gave teachers information and behaviors that can be integrated into their classrooms in terms of technology proficiency and digital citizenship.

“We expect that, moving forward, the presence and increasing integration of technology will inspire teachers to explore, freely share their knowledge with each other, and continue to build a learning environment for all,” Salazar said.  “Given ample opportunities to plan and deliver professional development, we expect to engage teachers and students with lesson sharing and increasingly investigative approaches to learning.”