Teaching 21st-century skills requires having the necessary tools to stimulate and develop our students' minds to meet the demands of the digital world. That is why, in fall 2015, with a generous donation of $126,000 from Norwood Park Township, the district administrators and School Technology Committee started a 1:1 iPad program for our Middle School. Since then, students entering 6th-grade receive an iPad that they carry throughout their Middle School years until they leave for High School.

With the same concept in mind, during winter 2016, we have rolled out a 1:1 Chromebook program to our 5th-grade students, and in fall 2017, we did the same for our 3rd-grade students.

Our students and teachers cannot say enough about how those tools have contributed to enhancing the learning experience. We have seen a lot of improvements and a wide variety of enrichment activities that are firing our students to a better and brighter future. However, the most immediate feedback we have received is the readiness of our students for their High School journey.