Upgrades at Alta Vista
ipads and Chromebooks for each student this year
As staff and students prepare for the new academic school year at Alta Vista School District, new construction projects, new curriculum and more computers are underway at the site.
The biggest change for 2018-19 is a significant boost in technology in Alta Vista classrooms. For the first time in the school’s history, students will be moving into oneto-one technology; each student will have their own Chromebook or Ipad to work with.
Hudson said last year they had 100 Chromebooks and 100 ipads — one device for about every ten students.
They have since been able to purchase 350 new devices so each student has access to a device to incorporate technology into their daily learning.
Younger students will be using the school’s current supply of ipads because of its simpler touchscreen interface, while older students will use the Chromebooks, which function like laptop computers.
The district is very pleased to have been able to achieve one-toone status for its students.
“This a huge step for us considering we are a very small school district,” said Rob Hudson, Alta Vista superintendent. “Our staff are taking care of it, programming the computers and getting everything ready
to go for the year.”
Hudson said the school is also in the process of upgrading buildings that have been in existence for 25 years. Wall boards need painting, amenities need to be adjusted in the classrooms, and lights need to be brought up to modern standards to get their facilities up to speed with the 21st century.
“We are in line for modernization and waiting to see if we can get some funding for that,” Hudson said. “We are looking to get some repairs done here because the buildings are older and they need some tender loving care.”
In addition, Hudson said staff have been painting doors, cutting trees and other routine summer projects to make school more comfortable.
Academically, teachers have adopted a new math and social science program for the upcoming year.
“Teachers have been training for the new adopted programs that the state requires,” Hudson added. “We are very pleased and happy to be moving on with that.”
One of the district's greatest accomplishment from last year was the growth in their testing scores. One of the intervention programs that they started last year was the Multitiered Support System (MTSS), which is a program that had tremendous success.
“About 87 percent of the students participated in the six-week intervention, and showed growth in their reading and language,” explained Hudson. “We are really excited about that, and we are going to expand it into the math program.”
Hudson said this year they will start an Intructional Leadership Team (ILT) for teachers in leadership roles, who are going to help the district grow and develop
in areas like math and English Language Arts.
“Who knows better than the teachers regarding what is going on in school?” said Hudson.
Hudson is very pleased with his staff, and said they are helping every way they can to improve learning for Alta Vista students.
“This is the finest staff I've ever worked with,” Hudson said. “They are really a special group that will get students to where they need to be.”
Alta Vista will kick off their academic year Aug. 15 and will continue to have minimum days every Wednesday throughout the year. The Academic year will end June 6, 2019.
“We are taking it one bite at a time,” Hudson explained. “Eventually we will get where we want the district to be.”