Lisa Lund is the Director of Educational Technology and Library Services at Denver Public Schools. In the 12 months since the pandemic shuttered schools, the folks at Denver Public Schools have learned a lot. And the good news is, they are eager to share.
According to Lund, “All students having devices, students having access to the Internet is something that I'm sure a lot of people that are online can relate to. So, we are moving forward with bond funds. All 6-12, will have a brand-new device next year in Denver public. We'll be moving the devices down from our secondary schools to our elementary schools. We know how important it is that kids have a device. We canceled snow days this year, so we could learn all the time. And so, what does school look like moving forward?
“I think what we're grappling with right now is we have returned to school. K five is back in school, full time. Our secondary schools are back in school in a hybrid situation two days a week, three days a week, depending on the school. We have all different sizes of school in Denver Public as most people probably know. And so I think we're grappling with how do we not go back to school in the 1920s? That we continue using technology in the appropriate manner and how do we continue to integrate that into our lessons? Because I think right now, it's really hard for our teachers to live stream and teach in person. And so we're working through some of that right now. And my new mantra is, ‘we've been talking for a long time about preparing our kids for the 21st century. We have to stop saying that cause I don't think we prepared our kids and we are in the 22nd century.’ So, what does that look like for our kids in the classrooms for next year?”
Join us for this frank and often revealing inside look at the thinking behind the digital transition at Denver Public Schools, arguably one of the top districts in the United States.
