| State: New Jersey | Number of Students: 2,461 |
| School Type: Public School District | Free and Reduced Lunch: 0.8% |
| Grade Level: 9-12 | English Language Learners: 0.6% |
School Context
A Love of Learning: Northern Valley Regional High School District places an emphasis on building critical thinking andproblem solving skills and highly values creativity in student learning.
Building Character: Creating an environment where all students feel safe and welcome is crucial to the district, soNorthern Valley Regional teaches character, education and teamwork, and encourages students to volunteer and to engagein extra-curricular activities.
College and Career Ready: College and career readiness is a major focus for the district. Students are offeredopportunities to build skills through a 1:1 laptop program, field experiences, internships, and a variety of elective courses.The district also strives to support all students and families through the college admission process.
State of Technology
1:1 Laptop Program: NVRHS is committed to their 1:1 laptop program,which began full roll-out during the 2014-2015 school year after a periodof piloting and experimenting various hardware devices. In the 1:1program, all students either receive a district-issued MacBook Air or bringtheir own Mac laptop to use in the classroom. All families must attend atraining program, regardless of whether the student is bringing their owndevice or using a district-owned laptop.
But first...Haiku: A full year before the 1:1 laptop program wasimplemented, Northern Valley Regional launched Haiku as their newlearning management system. Teachers in the district learned how to usethe LMS to fuel learning inside and out of the classroom before the laptopprogram was implemented. This helped staff ensure that they were usingthe technology to really support learning by using the tools to do thingsthat weren’t possible before. For example, teachers use Haiku’s featureWikiProjects to engage students through collaboration and group projects.
Mentors from Within: Northern Valley Regional offers teachers theopportunity to become tech mentors. There is an application processand applicants are then interviewed by the Principal and the Supervisorof Technology. The district currently has eight technology mentors, fourin each building.These mentors lead professional development sessionsand they are on duty at certain times of the day so that their colleagueshave embedded support right inside the building. They are providedwith a stipend from the district and are offered opportunities to attendconferences such as ISTE.
Focused PD: The district encourages teachers to focus on eight keyinstructional practices related to instructional technology that willsupport the 1:1 initiative. These key areas cover creating content onHaiku LMS, telecomputing projects (connecting with students in otherschools or guest teachers), online discussions and assessments, theFlipped Classroom approach, Wiki Projects, and using Haiku, Google Appsfor Educators and PowerSchool to guide students through cooperativelearning experiences. When the district launched the 1:1 program,teachers could initially choose two of the eight practices and attend a twoand a half hour session led by tech mentors from the district, followed bytwo hours of hands on time to explore with guidance from the mentor. Bythe end of this year, all teachers will have engaged in sessions covering alleight of the instructional practices.
Tech Needs & Requirements
Technology tools must be compatible with MacBook Air. The Supervisor of Technology guides teachers through aninformal content review process for software. The district is looking to refresh teacher laptops. Teachers are currently using Macbook Pros from four years ago.