Students attending Zavala Elementary will now have technology at their fingertips thanks to the Apple ConnectED grant.
On April 1, 2016, in a school-wide assembly, the school accompanied by Apple representatives and district administrators celebrated the delivery of brand new iPads for every student.
“This has been a long-awaited day for students and teachers at Zavala Elementary,” says Superintendent Dr. Art Cavazos. “True champions for our district, they will be the model for digital learning in our district. We thank them for their outstanding commitment to this project and are grateful for our partnership with Apple that allows us to enhance the learning experience for our students.”
In anticipation of the devices, Beatrice Cruz, a fifth-grade teacher, has introduced her students to a few apps and the basic skills needed to perform certain tasks on the iPad.
She says the new technology will be a game-changer in the way students learn.
“We’ve been looking forward to today,” says Cruz. “We had the teacher deployment in December, and that was exciting. Now we are celebrating the student deployment. I’m excited that the students get to engage in technology and see how technology is such a big part of our world. It is a big step for our campus and HCISD.”
“I’m excited because now we will have more technology and we will learn more about how to use it for our education,” says Kassandra Salazar, a fifth-grade student.
Teachers and administrators received brand new MacBook Air laptops and iPad Minis along with onsite professional development in December of last year.
To help every teacher integrate the new technology into their lessons, Apple has provided them with a series of workshops and will continue to provide ongoing support to help them reach their educational goals.
Zavala is one of eight schools in the state of Texas and one out of 114 schools in the nation to receive the grant. The school’s receipt of the award was announced in October 2015.
In June 2013, President Obama announced the ConnectED initiative, designed to enrich K-12 education for every student in America. ConnectED empowers teachers with the best technology and the training to make the most of it and empowers students through individualized learning and rich, digital content.
Apple joined the ConnectED initiative by committing $100 million in iPads, MacBooks, and other products, along with content and professional development tools to enrich learning in disadvantaged U.S. schools.
