ADS iBook 2015

APPLE DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL APPLICATION

A PPLE D ISTINGUISHED S CHOOL A PPLICATION

Location Houston, Texas Introduction Founded in 1946, Second Baptist School (SBS) is nestled in the wooded Memorial area of Houston, Texas. SBS offers a competitive, Christian education for students in grades pre-kindergarten -12.

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At a Glance 1:1 History and Overview

M ISSION S TATEMENT The mission of Second Baptist School is to train students in areas of knowledge that will allow them to understand clearly, to think deeply, to judge wisely, and to have the courage to live their lives on the great principles and convictions of biblical truth as they engage an innovative and digitally-based global community.

In 2009, SBS had a vision to become a 1:1 school. With the hiring of two “techies,” SBS distributed the first 172 laptops to faculty and staff in the spring of 2010.

By the start of school in 2011, every student in grades 5-12 received a MacBook and early childhood – fourth grade classrooms received iPads.

Grades pre-kindergarten – kindergarten - Classroom teachers have five iPads available in the classroom for learning centers, reading comprehension activities and project collaboration.

Grades 1-4 – Students have an assigned iPad that is kept in their teachers’ classrooms.

By the Numbers 1500 Laptops 400 iPads 30 Apple TVs

Grades 5-12 – In fifth grade, students are issued their first SBS laptop.

Faculty/Staff – Teachers and grade-level administrators are given a laptop, desktop and/or iPad. • Administrative team, Tech Team, Faculty and Students make up the shared leadership

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Visionary Leadership

Shared Leadership While the action takes place in the classroom, our school leaders are busy working behind the scenes to ensure SBS is on the lookout for new and creative ways to bring technology to our students.

Teacher Support: Lower, Middle and Upper school teachers are closely aided by the Technology Team. Each school level has a Technology Specialist who is ready and able to bring technology ideas to life in the classroom

P ASSION S TATEMENT Our passion is to bring every student into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while equipping them to do with excellence that which God has called them to do.

Top-Down Global Vision Our Head of School and executive team meet weekly to discuss the continued progress and achievements happening every day at SBS. Here, executive members share their vision and goals for technology and SBS. Ideas like parent-training courses and laptop shell cases have resulted from these meetings.

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Individual Leadership Dr. Jeff D. Williams – Our Head of School has been the catalyst for going digital at SBS. By adding the phrase, “digitally-based global community” to our Mission Statement, Dr. Williams changed the nature of an SBS education.

Andrea Prothro, Director of Admissions – Mrs. Prothro is the School’s greatest advocate on and off campus. As president of Houston Area Private Schools (HAIS), Mrs. Prothro regularly uses her platform to share our technology advancements.

Technology Team - Members of our Technology Team have been asked to present across the world, from Ireland to Hawaii to Philadelphia.

H ONOR C ODE As a member of the Second Baptist School community, I will not lie, cheat or steal; I will do my best to exemplify Christlike integrity in my academic and personal endeavors and encourage others to act accordingly.

Head of School, Dr. Williams, takes a selfie at the annual Convocation Ceremony.

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Parent Trainings

Community Engagement

At the start of each school year, parents are given the opportunity to learn about Blackbaud (formerly Whipple Hill), our learning management system. This year, four training sessions were offered and over 60 parents attended.

Friends of Technology and Communications

EagleFest

To connect better with our parents, the Technology Team formed the Friends of Technology and

Friends of Technology and Communications

SBS Parent, Maureen Holt, discusses the benefits of the Friends of Technology and Communications committee.

Communications parent advisory committee in 2012. The parents on this committee have students in all grade levels and possess varying levels of tech knowledge.

SBS Parent, Ginger Sanders, shares how Technology has enhanced the auction at EagleFest.

With their help, we have made our technology resources and school communication easily understandable to parents.

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Magnus Health Gone are the days of 100 forms to fill out before school starts.

SBS uses Magnus Health, which is an online portal for health forms and records.

Nurses and trainers are able to access and reference the information quickly in the event of an emergency. Magnus has an IOS app that enables teachers and coaches to communicate emergencies when off campus or on field trips.

TechFest Every fall, SBS hosts TechFest, a full day conference that brings together techies from across the state to learn skills like creating visual collages with iPads, saving video files with OneDrive and designing custom maps using MinecraftEDU. TechFest provides over 15 breakout sessions to bring creative ideas to classroom technology. With technology resources expanding in schools across the globe, educators share their latest and greatest strategies for going digital.

• 118 outside guest attendees

TechFest ’14 Sessions

• 36 different area schools 6

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Innovative Learning and Teaching

Lower School Examples • Grades pre-kindergarten-4 use apps to replace daily/weekly activities such as daily fact tests using the Mathboard app.

They also use apps to set up homework reminders and take online quizzes.

• With the help of the camera function, first graders create weather reports to compliment their study on meteorology.

I NNOVATIVE L EARNING AND T EACHING 1. Student Learning—Learning is a personal experience for every student.

2. Instructional Practices—Faculty are master learners who expertly guide their students through difficult and complex tasks.

3. Curriculum Design—Innovative and rigorous curriculum is designed to leverage technology.

• The Videolicious app brings writing to life for second graders through virtual storytelling.

• Students design and print 3D bridges using 3D Tinkercad software. Student creations were inspired by their study of Roman Architecture.

• Fourth graders plan, design and present energy-efficient playground ideas to the Head of School. Students use their iPad for research, design and final presentation.

• Coach Rayna Williams combines her iPad and THE-O Ball (which houses an iPod touch) to integrate technology into the Motor Lab classroom. THE-O ball is a ball with an iPod inside--the iPod apps encourage movement and physical activity.

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Middle School Examples

Curriculum Design

• Fifth grade English teacher Mrs. Loren Hopf gives her students a glimpse into missionary life with Aurasma, a virtual reality app.

• Lower School has taken several days for curriculum planning. Teachers are given substitutes for the day so that they can spend the day planning with their materials. Tech Specialists are available on these days to integrate.

• MS math teacher Caitlyn Schaffer flipped her classroom using apps from her classroom iPad. The app, Explain Everything, was used to record lessons and post to our school LMS. • Whenever MS students get to chose a presentation tool---the favorite is iMovie.

• Technology Specialists are available at each school level to support teachers with integration.

• All laptops come standard with Adobe Suite.

• Faculty and staff have the ability to request software to supplement their curriculum.

• History teacher Mrs. Nancy Wahl has her students to use Garageband to create podcast tours of landmarks and monuments seen on the eighth grade Washington, D.C. trip.

Upper School Examples

3D prototype

• Students are taught computer programming using “Swift” programming language - Apple’s new programming language for development.

• In entrepreneurial class, students propose, design and create products using Fusion 360. Students print prototypes on our in-house 3D printer.

• Physics application students sent a weather balloon into the atmosphere using a Raspberry Pi.

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Middle School Student Podcast

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Ongoing Professional Learning Relevant and Timely Professional Development Every teacher is required to complete at least 10 hours of professional development a year. Our teachers are encouraged to attend relevant and innovative conferences.

At TechFest, our faculty present creative and unique ideas to Houston-area educators. Here are some examples of presentations given at TechFest 2014: • So you have that app, NOW WHAT? • Students as Creators • To Print or Not to Print?

Our Technology Team regularly gives seminars at professional development conferences around the world.

Recent presentations: • Creative Applications of Technology in a 1:1 Environment • From the Inside Out: IT Structure • The Road to Becoming an Apple Distinguished School

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Evidence of Success

ACT Test Scores • ACT test scores for Second Baptist students were 25% higher than both the national and state scores for 2014.

• The average SAT score for Second Baptist students was 266 points higher than the national average and 329 points higher than the state average. The Class of 2014 was offered more than $4.5 million in scholarships.

Flexible Learning Environment

Accelerated Reader • There were over 44 million words read through the Accelerated Reader Program.

• 46 SBS students were awarded the title "Word Millionaire."

• 31 students read over 1 million words each.

• Wifi has been updated to the latest standard 802.11 ac throughout campus.

• In addition to repairing laptops and desktops inhouse, we are now also able to replace broken iPad screens in-house.

• 10 students read over 2 million words each.

• 5 students read over 3 million words.

Lower School Tech Specialist, Melissa Herring, replacing an iPad screen.

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Hear from our stake holders: “When I am talking about 3D printers, I have seen evidence of success in this technology. It is a powerful feeling for students to be able to materialize their ideas.” ~Javier Saavedra Robotics and International Liaison

“The integration of technology in the classroom is truly a remarkable, unsurpassed notion that fosters creativity, boundless imagination, and individuality. The 1:1 technology focus at SBS allows teachers to provide and support classroom activities that are student driven, differentiated by difficulty and interest, and centered around enriching classroom instruction. Students are more engaged, excited, and successful when they're provided the opportunities associated with technology integration. The benefits associated with aligning curriculum and technology ~Liz Brown Second Grade

“Technology allows my students to connect globally in a variety of ways to understand geography, history, and culture using 21st century competencies. These opportunities allow for richer learning experiences, coupled with a more genuine cultural understanding and informed worldview.” ~Ellen Barrett 6th Grade Global Studies

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“What I love about classroom technology is our ability to come up with a project that keeps students engaged. We often have students take pictures around our campus with their cell phones and upload them to their Macs. Next, we have students apply geometric theories to these photographs. The ease of access to real-world applications has given our students a competitive edge in mathematics.� ~Troy Karcher Upper School Math

Lower School

Upper School Math Project

~Tamara Gallagher Head of Lower School

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Contribution and Credits

The school liaison and the following people are willing and able to address these areas.

1. Visionary Leadership Dr. Jeff D. Williams Head of School Email: jwilliams@secondbaptistschool.org 2. Innovative Learning and Teaching

C ONTRIBUTION AND C REDITS List of people willing to address 5 areas of best practices.

Mr. Justin A. Smith Head of Middle School Email: jsmith@secondbaptistschool.org 3. Relevant and Timely Professional Development

The administration and a majority of the faculty possess the ability and are willing to articulate how they use Apple products in alignment with the five best practices as it applies to our school’s technology implementation program.

Mrs. Melissa Herring Lower School Integration Technology Specialist Master Technology Teacher Email: mherring@secondbaptistschool.org 4. Compelling Evidence of Success Mrs. Tamara Gallagher Head of Lower School Email: tgallagher@secondbaptistschool.org

School Liaison Ms. Hannah Noble Director of Technology Email:hnoble@secondbaptistschool.org

5. Flexible Learning Environment Mr. Cal Burnham Upper School Government/Economics Teacher Email: cburnham@secondbaptistschool.org 14