| State: Missouri | Number of Students: 2,670 |
| School Type: Public School District | Free and Reduced Lunch: 83.7% |
| Grade Level: PK-12 | English Language Learners: 86.7% |
School Context
Continuous Improvement: The district aims to encourage teachers, students, and all staff to engage in a four-step processof making improvements: Plan, Do, Study and Act. They encourage students to use this process when reflecting on whatthey’ve learned, teachers when creating new ways to run their classrooms and communicate with students, and principalsin how they are building their leadership teams. Whatever the process, the continuous improvement model is usedthroughout the district.
21st Century Curriculum: The district is working to transition curriculum to focus more on critical thinking andincorporating 21st century skills.
Tech Integration: While technology infrastructure has been expanding at Affton, the next step for the district is supportingand promoting integration of technology at all levels.
State of Technology
Crazy about Chromebooks: Beginning in fall 2014, all students at AfftonHigh School were given Dell Chromebooks. Now, the district is 1:1 withChromebooks in grades 5-12. While the High Schools are predominantlyusing Chromebooks, the district hopes to retain a device agnostic strategyacross all grades.
Wifi at Home: Affton provides every student a free Kajeet SmartSpotdevice. Kajeet is a wireless internet provider operating on the Verizon andSprint LTE wireless networks, specializing in off-campus internet access forstudents. The managed and filtered Kajeet Wi-Fi hotspot gives them theconnectivity they need to complete homework outside of school.
Teachers Continuing Learning: Partnering with Southeast MissouriState University, the district has built over 20 courses in Schoology forteachers to take for credit or simply to continue learning. The professionaldevelopment offered in these courses includes how to code, how to lead aconnected classroom, how to use Google Classroom and how to create amakerspace.
Create, Think and Design: Since last year, the district has added 7 newspaces to support Create, Think and Design (CTD) curricula. These spacesrange from a K-2 makerspace that supports rotations of art and musicclasses to an exploration and prototype lab space in the high schoolknown as Room 15. Here, students can work during lunch and after school on projects of interest. The room itself contains the tools of a cutting-edge makerspace, including 3D printers, laser cutters, digital cameras, and computers. (You can follow @AHSRoom15 on Twitter to keep up withstudent projects!)
Professional Skills for Students: New this year, Affton AdvancedProfessional Studies (A@ps) immerses students in professionalenvironments while engaging them in curriculum developed byindustry professionals and program instructors. Classroom learning issupplemented with projects from industry partners, who also mentorstudents and ensure timely, accurate and real project results. In additionto professional and career exposure, students in the program receive highschool elective and college credit.
Tech Needs & Requirements
Cloud-based products are preferred. Windows-based operating systems are preferred. Non-Java based apps are preferred. Companies interested in forming partnerships arepreferred. Technology needed is K-5 math software.
Initiatives
Growing Innovation: Now that the district has access to computers and robust Wifi across its schools, the big push is forteachers to begin trying new and innovative techniques. They want to give teachers time to grow and develop new andunique approaches to engaging students through technology.
Homework Innovation: Affton is working hard to ensure that all middle and high school students have internet access athome through a partnership with Kajeet.