Technology at Decatur
Stephen Decatur School has an excellent technology program in place for our students, and it continues to grow!
Blended Learning Initiative
Grades K through 5 participate in the School District of Philadelphia’s Blended Learning Initiative. Stephen Decatur School received a grant in 2016 that supplied every classroom in grades 3 through 5 with a cart of 15 Chromebooks. In 2018, Decatur received another blended learning grant, this time supplying all classrooms in grades K through 2 with carts of 17 touchscreen Chromebooks. These Chromebooks are perfect for our school’s young learners! Teachers and students at Decatur have been doing a wonderful job implementing the blended learning model into their daily routines! Click here to learn more about Blended Learning in the School District of Philadelphia.
Chromebooks
In addition to the Chromebooks used for blended learning in grades K through 5, Stephen Decatur School has carts of Chromebooks in grades 6 through 8, as well as in the specialists’ and learning support teachers’ classrooms. This allows every student at Decatur to have access to a laptop every single day!
Computer Lab/Digital Literacy & Technology Instruction
Stephen Decatur Schools has a computer lab equipped with 34 iMacs, as well as Ozobot Robots, Sphero Robots, and a handful of iPads. Students visit the computer lab once a week for Digital Literacy instruction with Ms. Solis. Students receive instruction in a variety of areas, including digital citizenship, coding, word processing, research strategies, keyboarding, etc.
iPads
All of our Autistic Support classrooms have enough iPads for each student to use. The iPads in these classrooms are loaded with apps that allow our students to practice math and language arts skills, as well as apps that help assist students with communication.
Interactive Whiteboards
Many of the classrooms at Stephen Decatur School are equipped with either Smart Boards or Promethean Boards. These devices enhance teaching and learning by providing interactive learning experiences for the students. This coming spring/summer, Decatur is fortunate enough to have all of our existing Promethean Boards replaced by brand new 75″ Smart Boards! We are looking forward to this exciting upgrade!
Classrooms that do not currently have interactive whiteboards have document cameras and projectors which allow the teachers to implement the use of technology, just without the interactive features. The Fundraising Committee works all year long to raise money for technology at Decatur. By doing so, they have been able to purchase several Smart Boards for the remaining classrooms that do not have them.