Nine desired
student
outcomes for
technology
• 24/7 learning without borders
or boundaries.
• Opportunities for blended
learning.
• Develop writing skills.
• Self-directed, inquiry-based
learning – ask compelling,
answerable questions; have
skills to locate, evaluate, syn-
thesize and communicate.
• Create innovative, real-world
content that can be easily
shared.
• Individualized/personalized
learning.
• Interact, communicate and
collaborate with peers, teach-
ers and experts/professionals
beyond the classroom walls.
• Learn responsible digital citi-
zenship – protecting privacy,
constructive criticism, clean
digital footprint, respecting
people in the community.
• Learn skills that translate into
daily life and are not device or
application specific.
– Romoland SD
10
Leadership
them, and accessible from any device.
Google was the perfect fit in this regard.
With its “anytime, anywhere” philosophy
and cloud storage for student work, our stu-
dents could be immersed in learning and
minimize the unavoidable support chal-
lenges that come along with technology. If
a student had a problem with their device,
they could easily login on another student’s
device, a loaner device, or even a computer
at home running a different operating sys-
tem and instantly have access to all of their
programs and work; similar to their school-
provided device.
If a student dropped their Chromebook
and broke it, they could be back in class with
a loaner and all of their files in 10 minutes.
No potential for lost data, no programs to
reinstall or files to redownload or restore
from backup. Google’s G Suite promised a
level of “business continuity” for our learn-
ing environment that could not be matched.
Next, we needed to ensure sustainability.
We created a five-year plan that dedicated
resources to the necessary infrastructure
upgrades, as well as device refresh. Just in
the four short years we have invested in this
work, our plans have adapted.
We have expanded our middle schools
from having their devices for 180 days of in-
struction to having them 365 days per year.
At the end of their middle school experi-
ence, promoting eighth grade students can
purchase their device instead of us surplus-
ing the aged device for small returns. We
have also partnered with Sprint to provide
at-home wireless access for students who are
lacking that connectivity.
Our five-year plan was actualized in three
years, but our commitment to supporting
devices in the classroom is renewed with
every financial decision we make. Support-
ing student use of technology is a choice, and
we have committed to that choice.
As our students and teachers continue
to immerse themselves in the digital learn-
ing environment built on a Google G Suite
foundation, one of the challenges we con-
tinue to struggle with is moving our teachers
into the Google world.
As a district, we believe it is critical that
teachers and students are comfortable using
the same tools. Besides the obvious benefits
this brings for teacher-student collabora-
tion and communication, it also helps tre-
mendously with support. If a student has
trouble, it’s good for everyone if the teacher
has enough familiarity with the same apps,
so they can help the student immediately in
class instead of sending the student elsewhere
for help at the expense of valuable class time.
The reverse is also true: how great is it
when a teacher has a problem, and one of
their students is able to help because they use
the same tools?
Romoland is committed to providing
teachers with multiple professional devel-
opment options to help them transition
to G Suite in order to make this learning
environment a reality in every classroom.
Besides embracing Google G Suite as their
official productivity suite across the district,
teachers also have had the opportunity to
participate in Google Certified Educator
Boot Camps, and to date, 15 percent of our
teachers have achieved Level 1 certification
or higher.
Schools integrate G Suite into onsite
professional development in different sub-
ject areas, and teachers also have access to
self-paced learning opportunities through
Alludo and Kyte Learning. For these ef-
forts, Romoland has earned recognition as
a Google Reference District, one of only five
districts in California.
Change is hard, but Romoland is com-
mitted to establishing a culture that em-
braces change and continual learning both
for our teachers and the students we serve.
The consistent and meaningful use of in-
structional technology requires much more
than just a philosophy and finding the finan-
cial resources to implement such an initia-
tive. In Romoland School District, we want
instructional technology to transform the
teaching and learning experiences for our
teachers and students.
A large percentage of our teachers engage
in blended learning cohorts to learn about
different blended learning models, develop
their own capacity, and share best practices
with colleagues. Instructional coaches have
facilitated these groups and used the In-
ternational Association for K-12 Online
Learning (iNACOL) Blended Learning
Teacher Competency Framework as a road-