SBS Apple Distinguished School

WWW.SECONDBAPTISTSCHOOL.ORG

Location Houston, Texas

Introduction Established in 1946, Second Baptist School (SBS) is nestled in the wooded Memorial area of Houston, Texas. SBS is a learning community to over 1,000 students (PK-12) who enjoy a breadth of opportunities - from customized learning experiences to travel exposure to technological advancement. SBS graduates are equipped with the character, confidence and capability needed to succeed in the world they confront in the 21st century.

Overview By the Numbers • 1000 MacBook Air laptops • 40 iMac desktops • 450 iPad devices • 40 Apple TVs

1:1 History and Overview In 2009, SBS had the 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 August 2011, every student in grades 5-12 received a MacBook and classrooms in early childhood through fourth grade classrooms received iPads.

Grades pre-kindergarten - kindergarten: Pre-kindergarten and Bridge teachers have one iPad and four MacBook Air laptops available in their classrooms for learning centers, reading comprehension activities and project collaboration.

Kindergarten has five iPad devices in each classroom and will join the school’s 1:1 iPad program in the fall of 2017.

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

Grades 5 - 12: Beginning in grade 5, students are issued their first SBS laptop.

Laptops are on a three-year lease cycle.

Faculty/Staff: Teachers and grade-level administrators are given a laptop, desktop and/or iPad.

C HAPTER 1

Vision MISSION 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.

HONOR CODE 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.

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

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. The administrative team, technology team and staff make up the shared leadership.

Teacher Support Lower, middle and upper school teachers are closely aided by the technology team. All teachers have two dedicated instructional technology specialists to assist in curriculum planning and integration.

Student Support The Technology Center is the hub of tech support for students.

Two full-time staff members are Apple certified technicians who diagnose and repair Macbook issues in-house. The Tech Center is open during school hours and during dedicated summer hours to ensure accessibility and timeliness of repairs.

PASSION STATEMENT 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.

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.

Ana Konuma: As a lower school science teacher, Mrs. Konuma continuously adapts and stretches her course curriculum by using innovative technologies, such as augmented reality apps, to create classroom experiences that were previously inconceivable.

The 2016-2017 SBS leadership team at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. The team participated in a two-day workshop at the Apple briefing center to devise a plan for technology at SBS for the next several years.

Javier Saavedra: As a robotics teacher, Mr. Saavedra is one of our most innovative faculty members on campus. He fearlessly teaches the upper school robotics courses as well as advises grades 3-12 in after-school robotics clubs. Always looking for and developing new gadgets and inventions, Mr. Saavedra continually stretches our students’ thinking.

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Parent Trainings To ensure the school community plays a part in the long-term sustainability and success of our technology vision and goals, we provide strategic meetings with parents throughout the year. At the start of each school year, parents are given the opportunity to learn about Blackbaud, our learning management system. We also offer an internet safety meeting that offers practical ideas, tools and strategies for parenting kids in their use of technology. Our goal is for parents to be informed and armed with the necessary tools to foster student learning, growth and creativity.

SeeSaw Portfolios Instant access is one of the many benefits of technology use.

Student experiences with technology in the classroom are easily accessible to parents through the use of the SeeSaw app.

Parents use a login affiliated with their student, giving them instant access to weekly lessons and achievements.

"I'm a huge fan of Seesaw. It serves as a portal into my child's day that provides me with insight and context to have deeper, more meaningful conversations with my sons.

After school, instead of just asking ‘how was your day?’ I can tell them that I saw the work

they were doing in science or that I saw the results of their timed math quiz and it helps drive meaningful discussions that otherwise would be the standard ‘today was good’ type of response. From their perspective, I can tell they enjoy the fact that their work is seen and appreciated in a way that wouldn't be possible without a product like Seesaw.”

- First grade parent, Steve Baker

Friends of Technology and Communications With technology and communications so closely linked, the directors of technology and communications partnered with the parents association members to form the Friends of Technology and Communications group. This group of 6-10 parents meets every other month to share what’s happening within each department as well as discuss and plan for upcoming events and communications. Having parent involvement and input has been monumental in the buy-in, growth and continued success of technology at SBS.

Directors of Technology Group In 2015, our director of technology Hannah Noble, cofounded the Houston-area Independent Schools (HAIS) Directors of Technology group. The group consists of technology administrators from 40 independent schools who meet twice yearly to discuss best practices within our schools and for independent school communities.

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C HAPTER 2

Learning

“I use the iPad and Apple TV daily in the classroom to present my algebra lessons. These tools allow me to be mobile and interact with my students during a lesson.

I am able to monitor

progress and give immediate feedback to the students as I walk around the classroom. The students are more willing to share their work with the class because they LOVE to write on the iPad. Student work is then projected for the class to view and discuss. I believe the learning that takes place in my classroom has been greatly enhanced by providing more opportunities for student interaction and participation in the lessons.� ~ Jenn Massey, Algebra I & II

Lower School Examples iWork templates have opened up a new world of techinfused options. Students use these templates to complete creative projects previously created using pencil and paper.

Page 5 (inside flap)

Back

Cover Page

Hit the OREGON To go to Oregon you will have to take a wagon. A wagon is a big wooden vehicle with a big white piece of material . The wheels of the wagon were half made of wood and half made of steel.

There is also a bucket full of grease at the bottom to make the wheels run smoother when there are bumps in the road. There ends of the white cloth wrap across the bottom.

The way to Oregon is easy ; Just get in a wagon go trough Wyoming , Nebraska , Missouri , Idaho , and Oregon and you'll get there. When you get there your gonna need to build a house . The houses are important. All of them are made out of wood.

TRAIL

In lower school technology classes, coding has been extended to reach our youngest learners. Teaching a programming language at a younger age has provided more opportunities for our older students to begin taking their knowledge to the next level. Prekindergarten and kindergarten students begin learning the basics of programming through the use of the Code-a-Pillar and the board game, Robot Turtles. This has helped pave the way for extended knowledge once students begin more advanced coding in Scratch, Sphero and Hack-a-Ball.

SBS Tech Squad gives students a chance to work alongside the technology team and serve others with their technology knowhow. This group meets monthly to

learn tips and tricks for troubleshooting classroom tech issues. In class, these students support their peers, troubleshoot and solve tech problems. The goal of the program is to build critical thinking skills through servant leadership.

A highlight for second grade students is using the WeDo robotics kit in enrichment class. These kits allow students to build LEGO models featuring working motors and sensors, program their models and explore a series of cross-curricular, theme-based activities.

Lower School - Lego WeDo Robotics

Second graders choose an animal to build and program movement using the WeDo robotics kit. Filmed by students using an iPad.

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“Technology reinforces learning from the classroom and expands creative thinking to produce skills many would not realize a child was even capable of doing. The excitement and joy on their faces when they discover programs on the computer, help a neighbor solve a coding problem or engage classmates with an animated presentation is a true gift of technology in young lives.� ~Gina Hicks, Lower School Technology

Middle School Examples Quizlet and Kahoot! are among the top hits with middle school students. Teachers set these up as study guides or competitive review games for almost every subject area.

Sixth grade English students use GarageBand to record podcasts that serve as a summative assessment for a novel unit.

Life Science - The Cell Cycle

Seventh grade students create a stop motion video explaining the processes of the cell cycle.

Students use Sphero in robotics and coding classes to develop computational thinking strategies while learning the basics of coding through a fun and engaging curriculum.

A new elective class was offered in 2016-2017 built around coding and Swift Playgrounds. Students appreciate the intuitive interface and easy to walk through activities. They mostly love showing off their work!

Swift Playgrounds

Bible students prepare and present a dream missionary trip proposal using Aurasma and QR coded articles for research as well as keynote and video apps for the presentation itself.

Eighth graders choose how to present an advertisement for a new church. They can either create a 3-D model that can also be 3-D printed, record a song about the church in GarageBand or create a brochure in Pages listing weekly activities.

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Upper School Examples Volume 40 of the SBS Yearbook offered a new twist in memory-making. The yearbook’s theme, Unfiltered, was inspired by a mix of virtual reality content and social media.

The yearbook features designated camera icons located throughout its pages. These icons let the reader know that the page contains interactive content accessible through their iPhone or iPad. Readers download the free app, Aurasma, scan the camera icons and become transported back in time to the 2015-2016 school year. The yearbook and staff won three national awards for this publication.

Fine Arts students utilize the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite to create and edit gifs, designs, animations and photos.

Students and faculty in the Fine Arts department use PhotoBooth to record performance practices they can then go back and critique.

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C HAPTER 3

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

• Building level curriculum coordinators regularly meet and plan with teachers and departments to ensure curriculum alignment school-wide.

• Several teachers collaborate with classrooms across the country. Our science teachers collaborated with Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta working toward funding a grant project. A middle school history teacher collaborated with students at Shore Country Day School in Boston on a unit covering the women’s suffrage movement.

This kind of visual and real-time collaboration would not have been possible without the Macbook Air. • Required and elective courses are re-evaluated each year to maintain relevancy and excellence across all grade levels.

Javier Saavedra attended a workshop provided by the National Science Foundation through MATE (Marine Advanced Technical Education) where he learned about and built a functioning underwater robot.

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.

Several of our faculty and staff attend the TCEA, ISTE and SXSWedu conferences where they engage with other educators and experts in education to learn strategies for implementing technology into their classrooms.

Second Baptist School regularly hosts both local and out-oftown schools for campus visits to see everything from technology to Harkness discussions. We love showcasing our best practices and helping others achieve as well.

Several times throughout the school year, our faculty are provided afternoons dedicated to professional development and learning. On these days, students are dismissed at noon, giving teachers the rest of the school day to plan with their grade level teams and departments. On one such afternoon, we held SBS Edcamp where teachers decided, on the spot, what topics they’d like to discuss as groups. Topics are posted on sticky notes and similar interests are grouped together.

Teachers then pick which sessions they would like to take part in. These afternoons provide an opportunity for engaging fellowship and collaboration amongst teachers across all building levels.

In spring 2016, our instructional technology specialists rolled out a badging system in order to promote ongoing learning and collaboration. Once the teacher completes a given task or demonstrates knowledge in a particular area, he/she earns that badge! We have badges for all Apple creative apps, Google Apps and apps within our learning management system. A comprehensive list of badge earners is available for all faculty and staff. Teachers enjoy collecting badges and showcasing them on their laptops, room signs and bulletin boards.

In spring 2017, the tech team hosted workshops for faculty to earn the Apple Teacher badge. We are proud to say that 100% of our fulltime teachers earned the Apple Teacher badge.

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Every fall, SBS hosts TechFest, a full day conference that brings together educators from across the state to share and learn new technology integrations for their classroom and school. After four successful years, we have hosted five keynote speakers and offered 63 break-out sessions to over 400 attendees representing 40+ local schools.

To celebrate faculty and staff pursuing and demonstrating innovative ways to enhance teaching and learning, we honor them as our Geek of the Week. The chosen geek of the week gets a photo op wearing the signature glasses and a write-up of why they deserve the title. Geeks of the weeks are given recognition through Twitter and other school-wide communications.

SBS Badge Earners

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C HAPTER 4

Environment

Apple TV has given me increased flexibility in the classroom. It not only allows me to move freely around the class while having the ability to project information, it has

Access to Equipment Students in grade 3-4 have access to a cart of 18 Macbook Air laptops. This accessibility allows them to hone in on skills such as using Mac OS X, keyboarding and file structure and organization.

All mathematics teachers in grades 5-12 have access to a Mac Air, Apple TV and iPad mini for teaching and planning purposes. The addition of the Apple TVs and iPad minis in these classes has allowed teachers the freedom to move about the classroom while presenting and annotating math problems. Teachers often project their iPads through Apple TV to teach the day’s concept by using apps like Explain Everything. This app also allows teachers to photograph and even record their lessons for posting to their class websites.

Students use the SPRK+ Power pack along with a shared iPad cart of 20 iPads in class. By using managed Apple IDs, students can easily log in and out of their accounts on the various iPads without losing their place between classes.

empowered students to be able to share information as well. Both of these tools together gives students a sense of ownership over the class that leads to higher levels of engagement, and thus higher achievement. ~Aaron Randolph, Eighth Grade IPC

The athletic and PE coaches have access to 12 iPads for use during the school day and on the road at games. Coaches create music playlists for warm-ups, record games and use sportspecific iOS apps to track stats. We use data plans with the majority of these devices to ensure constant connectivity, no matter where they are.

Four iPad devices are mounted on the end of the stacks in the library for students to search for desired books. The mounts vary in height to assist students of all ages.

Fundraising

Flexible Learning Environment

At the annual All School Coffee, parents are able to register for upcoming events and opportunities at laptop stations.

Wifi has been updated to the latest standard 802.11 ac throughout campus. Each classroom has its own access point.

126 access points can be located throughout campus, ensuring solid connections in all areas.

During the annual school book fair, parent volunteers use school-provided Macbook Air laptops to quickly complete and process book fair donations and purchases.

Staff utilize iPads during EagleFest, the annual auction and carnival, to assist with text bidding and auction check-out.

Technology Enhances Book Fair Processing

Apple School Manager combined with JAMF allows for iPad deployment to be an out-of-the-box experience for users.

Two in-house Apple Certified Technicians, combined with Apple Care on all Macbook and iPad devices allow for minimal down-time while diagnosing and repairing faculty and student devices.

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C HAPTER 5

Results While the data speaks for itself, there are many intangible results we have seen by giving students access to Apple technologies. Engagement levels are higher than ever. When given the choice in how to present a final product, student creativity shines. Students take more ownership of their work.

Their ability to recall information has never been better.

Moving forward, we will continue to provide quality professional development to our staff and teachers, ensuring they have the tools necessary to design and implement technology-infused lessons. This will provide additional opportunities for students to engage in innovative and meaningful learning.

• Lower school students are assessed using the Educational Records Bureau, ERB. On these exams, the mean percent content mastery scores of SBS lower school students is higher to significantly higher than the mean percent content mastery scores of other independent schools -- in every core content area.

• One of the greatest benefits of using the digital ERB exam is its ability to meet students’ needs. The digital ERB questions are scaffolded by student response giving administrators and teachers a more accurate picture of student ability levels. By taking the ERBs in a digital environment, scores are processed immediately. This allows teachers and administrators to quickly provide students and parents with personalized feedback regarding student progress.

• Exceeding the national SAT average of 1484 and the state SAT average of 1393, the average SAT score for the SBS Class of 2017 is 1790. This is 21% above the national average and 28% above the state average.

• 87% of the Class of 2017 maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better.

• 56 upper school students were inducted into the National Honor Society.

C HAPTER 6

Contribution & Credits

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

1. Vision Mrs. Andrea Prothro Director of Admissions Email: aprothro@secondbaptistschool.org 2. Learning Mrs. Ellen Barrett Middle School Curriculum Specialist Email: ebarrett@secondbaptistschool.org 3. Teaching Mrs. Melissa Herring Lower School Integration Technology Specialist Master Technology Teacher Email: mherring@secondbaptistschool.org

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 areas as it applies to our school’s technology innovation.

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

4. Environment Mr. Javier Saavedra Technology Innovation Email: jsaavedra@secondbaptistschool.org 5. Results Mrs. Evette Haberman Head of Lower School Email: ehaberman@secondbaptistschool.org