SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 15, 2013) - Top-ranked school districts have been announced in the ninth annual Digital School Districts Survey by the Center for Digital Education (CDE) and the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The survey showcases exemplary school boards' and districts' use of technology to govern the district, communicate with students, parents and the community and to improve district operations.
Innovations by this year's winners touched all facets of education. Board members at Geneseo Community Unit School District #228, Illinois, are now allowed to use Skype or iChat to access important meetings if off site and can even be projected via live-cast onto the screen in the board room. Teachers in Roanoke County, Virginia, public schools are using dashboards to measure assessments, teaching with mobile-friendly digital curriculum and using e-textbooks. Marietta City Schools, Georgia, requires students to take online classes for graduation and, beginning in the sixth grade, students build and maintain a college and career-ready e-portfolio.
"It's really exciting to see the unique and creative ways districts are using technology," said Cathilea Robinett, Executive Vice President for the Center for Digital Education. "These outstanding innovations are moving us forward. We see these leaders as an inspiration to other school districts to continue leading education into a digital future. Congratulations to this year's winners!"
"Through the leadership of local school boards, we continue to see that technology tools and practices are transforming America's public schools," said Thomas J. Gentzel, NSBA Executive Director. "The school districts honored in the 2013 Digital Districts Survey serve as national models for education technology innovations."
The top ten rankings are awarded to those school boards/districts that most fully implement technology benchmarks in the evolution of digital education, as represented in the survey questions.
The first-place winners in each classification are:
- Roanoke County Public Schools, Va. (12,000 students or more)
- Marietta City Schools, Ga. (Between 3,000 and 12,000 students)
- Geneseo Community Unit School District #228, Ill. (3,000 students or less)
All U.S. public school districts are eligible to participate in the survey with the three classifications based on size of enrollment. View the full list of winners.
CDE thanks NetApp and Sprint for underwriting the survey and for their support of school districts across the nation.
About the National School Boards Association
Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. Working with and through our state associations, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. See www.nsba.org
About The Center for Digital Education
The Center for Digital Education (CDE) is a national research and advisory institute specializing in K-12 and higher education technology trends, policy, and funding. CDE's media platform includes the Center for Digital Education Special Reports, centerdigitaled.com, email newsletters, and custom publications.
The Center for Digital Education is a division of e.Republic, a national publishing, event and research company focused on smart media for public sector innovation.