Field of Action
Fredericksburg Academy is a PK through 12 independent day school. The school first opened its doors in 1992 to 60 students, and currently has an enrollment of approximately 300 students. Campus consists of two academic buildings and an athletic center situated on 50 acres just south of the Fredericksburg city line. The campus is divided by a four lane road with the buildings on one side and athletic fields, tennis courts, and a forested nature trail on the other. The two sides are linked by a tunnel that goes beneath the road allowing students to safely cross for activities and athletic events.
Grade levels are divided into three different schools within FA. The lower school consists of grades PK-3 through 5, the middle school covers grades 6 through 8, and the upper school houses grades 9 through 12. The lower and middle school share the larger of the two buildings. This building was originally built to house an office park, and over the years many internal renovations have been made to accommodate the classrooms needed for the growing student population. The upper school building was built as an Arts and Sciences building that opened in 2004. At the time, the plan was to build a second building to house the remainder of the upper school programs, but this has not come to fruition due to the economic downturn and the resulting decline in student enrollment.
Technology has been a major focus in the upper school for many years where a 1:1 laptop program has been in place. This program was one of the first in the region, although many area high schools have since implemented the use of 1:1 devices. Up until last year, upper school students leased a laptop from the school with the option to purchase it at the end of their lease. Now the students are responsible for purchasing a laptop to use in and out of the classroom.
The lower and middle school have just recently seen a focus on improving their access to technology from the board of trustees and the administration team. Until very recently a computer lab in each division was the only access students had to technology. Teachers are assigned a school laptop, and as of last year, each lower school classroom had its own projector, but those were the only other examples of school provided technology to be found in both divisions. This will change next year for the middle school when they implement a BYOD laptop program for its students in grades 6 - 8.
The lower school has a history of treating technology as a special focus class, like PE or music, so students were scheduled to spend thirty to sixty minutes each week in the lab with a computer teacher. This teacher, historically, has not been someone with a degree, or even background, in technology, and most classes were spent playing games on the computers. Last year this was changed by my reassignment to a newly created position, that of Lower School Technology Coordinator. This position not only focuses on direct contact with students in the lab, but also the development, administration and support of teacher technology professional development.
New technology has also been introduced in the lower school. Two iPad carts of twenty devices each was deployed for use in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms. Last year, the grades took turns with the iPads with fifth grade going first and then transitioning them to fourth grade after the winter break, in February. This year, each grade has one cart of devices which is shared between two classes. The teachers in each grade decided to use a 1:2 configuration (one iPad for every two students). Apple TVs were added in all classrooms in grades one through 4. When we decided to move forward with the Apple TVs, the plan was that each class would receive a flat screen TV to use with the device, but instead, over the summer, new projectors were purchased instead. While the projectors are more versatile, they are not mounted, so teachers find the process of setting them up to be time consuming and so their use is very limited and almost never involves the Apple TV. Two iPad minis were assigned to each of our two kindergarten classrooms, but this number is so small, the teachers are using them as part of their morning rotation of learning centers. While new devices have been acquired, there has been little emphasis on teacher technology professional development to facilitate their use with students.
Grade levels are divided into three different schools within FA. The lower school consists of grades PK-3 through 5, the middle school covers grades 6 through 8, and the upper school houses grades 9 through 12. The lower and middle school share the larger of the two buildings. This building was originally built to house an office park, and over the years many internal renovations have been made to accommodate the classrooms needed for the growing student population. The upper school building was built as an Arts and Sciences building that opened in 2004. At the time, the plan was to build a second building to house the remainder of the upper school programs, but this has not come to fruition due to the economic downturn and the resulting decline in student enrollment.
Technology has been a major focus in the upper school for many years where a 1:1 laptop program has been in place. This program was one of the first in the region, although many area high schools have since implemented the use of 1:1 devices. Up until last year, upper school students leased a laptop from the school with the option to purchase it at the end of their lease. Now the students are responsible for purchasing a laptop to use in and out of the classroom.
The lower and middle school have just recently seen a focus on improving their access to technology from the board of trustees and the administration team. Until very recently a computer lab in each division was the only access students had to technology. Teachers are assigned a school laptop, and as of last year, each lower school classroom had its own projector, but those were the only other examples of school provided technology to be found in both divisions. This will change next year for the middle school when they implement a BYOD laptop program for its students in grades 6 - 8.
The lower school has a history of treating technology as a special focus class, like PE or music, so students were scheduled to spend thirty to sixty minutes each week in the lab with a computer teacher. This teacher, historically, has not been someone with a degree, or even background, in technology, and most classes were spent playing games on the computers. Last year this was changed by my reassignment to a newly created position, that of Lower School Technology Coordinator. This position not only focuses on direct contact with students in the lab, but also the development, administration and support of teacher technology professional development.
New technology has also been introduced in the lower school. Two iPad carts of twenty devices each was deployed for use in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms. Last year, the grades took turns with the iPads with fifth grade going first and then transitioning them to fourth grade after the winter break, in February. This year, each grade has one cart of devices which is shared between two classes. The teachers in each grade decided to use a 1:2 configuration (one iPad for every two students). Apple TVs were added in all classrooms in grades one through 4. When we decided to move forward with the Apple TVs, the plan was that each class would receive a flat screen TV to use with the device, but instead, over the summer, new projectors were purchased instead. While the projectors are more versatile, they are not mounted, so teachers find the process of setting them up to be time consuming and so their use is very limited and almost never involves the Apple TV. Two iPad minis were assigned to each of our two kindergarten classrooms, but this number is so small, the teachers are using them as part of their morning rotation of learning centers. While new devices have been acquired, there has been little emphasis on teacher technology professional development to facilitate their use with students.