Superintendent of
Perry Township Schools
Today’s world has us entrenched in the world of technology.
Perry Township understands that its children must have access to technology if they are to be prepared for life after high school. Just six years ago there were approximately 5,000 computers in our schools; today, more than 14,000 are utilized every day.
The technology statistics for Perry Township are quite impressive. Daily log-ins from parents, students and staff for Skyward (our student management system) typically number almost 10,000. Parents and students monitor grades and assignments, and teachers respond to questions from students who are working on their homework in the evening.
Perry Township has an instructional tool called a Smart Board, and these boards are installed throughout the district. These digital white boards are heavily used by staff and students. Teachers have taken advantage of more than 500 development courses to learn how to use devices such as Smart Boards.
Students in Grades 3 through 8 have individual access to a computer and use this tool as readily as we used a pen and paper when we were in school. High school students also have access to computer tablets called Chromebooks, which have replaced many traditional textbooks.
These technological advances enable teachers to create and collect assignments without using paper. Teachers evaluate their students’ work and provide direct, real-time feedback as children work in the classroom.
The township is blessed with outstanding teachers, all of whom use technology to their advantage. Here is how that IT impacts the instructional program:
• Fourth-grade teacher Matt White provides audio comments on the writing assignments turned in by his pupils, who can receive feedback many times during the same day.
Casey Pennington’s seventh-grade language arts class accesses a software program called Destiny to help search for books in the media center. The program provides selections at the appropriate reading level for each child.
Students in Christi Akers’ class use their Chromebooks to write essays in a computer program called Google Docs. All of the essays can be viewed by Akers from her computer, and she can provide comments as students write.
Students in Kelly Harmon’s classroom discussed the difference between texting and standard English by making classroom posts in Google.
The use of technology is important in today’s educational experience. However, we must always remember that it is the relationship between the student and the teacher that ultimately makes the difference in a student’s life.
Our staff members excel in the use of technology in their instructional programs, and they deeply care about their students.