Now a total of 11 schools across the district honored with this national recognition.
We are pleased to announce that at the end of August, Carpenter, Price and Ward elementary schools were recognized as Apple Distinguished Schools for the 2024-2027 program term. Eight Downey Unified elementary schools have previously been awarded this prestigious designation, making it a total of 11 schools across the district to hold this international recognition. Schools apply and are selected for this distinction based on their commitment to continuous innovation in education and using Apple products to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning.
Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of leadership in educational excellence, with a clear vision of how technology-rich environments support learning goals. In Apple Distinguished Schools, forward-thinking leaders and their communities work to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning, and they have documented results of academic accomplishments.
Schools all over the world are using computers, but being awarded this recognition signifies that our 11 campuses are using iPad and Mac to transform learning. Through this incorporation of technology into each lesson, teachers empower students to lead, learn, and thrive, and ultimately discover new opportunities to make their world a better place.
There are currently 889 such schools in the world—ranging from elementary to college – 338 in North America, 37 in California – 11 of which are in our district alone.
“We are very proud and excited about this recognition, for not one, but now a total of 11elementary schools. Our teachers, Instructional Technology team and administrators have worked cohesively and pushed themselves to showcase our students’ creative use of technology in all subjects,” shared Jennifer Robbins, Director of Elementary Education. “Each school’s video application for this recognition reflects how our teachers have introduced technology, through the use of iPads and educational online applications, to help students gain the confidence and skills necessary to present their learning in new and creative ways.”
These three elementary schools join the previously designated Gallatin, Gauldin, Imperial, Lewis, Old River, Rio San Gabriel, Unsworth and Williams elementary schools. The selection of 11 Downey Unified schools as Apple Distinguished Schools highlights the campuses’ success in creating innovative and compelling learning environments that engage students, providing tangible proof of academic achievement.
“If 5th graders have a U.S. state presentation, they can plan to use a green screen and appear in the state’s capital while they present to their peers or use an app to create a new webpage,” shared Marnie Luevano, Elementary Instructional Technology Coach, as she explained how students utilize technology within the classrooms. “Our department is here to support our teachers and students in having a ‘voice and choice’ in how they arrive to and present their findings. Technology offers different paths to the same educational goals of research, writing, problem solving, public speaking and much more.”
The road to becoming an Apple Distinguished School includes significant upgrades to digital technology access and implementation before the school can even receive an invitation to apply. First, schools must have an established 1:1 (one-to-one) Apple device program for two or more years. This was accomplished in our district when they began with the 21stCentury Learning Communities initiative in 2015-16 when the district began providing an iPad to each elementary and middle school student.
Other criteria to apply includes having 75% or more completion of the Apple Teacher training by the school’s leadership and educators, and documentation of positive results of the integration of Apple Apps and numerous other digital resources into curriculum to create opportunities for student learning.
“For our school to be recognized, is incredibly validating. This is a great accomplishment for our entire school community,” shared Price Elementary Principal, Peggy Meehan. “Utilizing various applications, our Instructional Technology Coaches and teachers have led the charge in encouraging our students to become innovators in their own learning. There is no question that this infusion of technology into our learning strategies instills the type of curiosity that inspire to creative thinking in our students in a way that empowers them to see themselves as capable learners.”
During each schools’ three-year designation as an Apple Distinguished School, each campus is expected to continuously improve and grow their integration of technology into curriculum. Five of the eight elementary schools were most recently redesignated during this most recent program process and we are happy to share that our remaining two elementary schools as well as potentially our middle schools, will continue their technology efforts toward the Apple Distinguished School recognition over the next year.