Two thousand SMART Board interactive whiteboards to be installed in Cypress Fairbanks ISD
CALGARY, Alberta --- December 12, 2008 --- SMART Technologies announces that the third-largest school district in Texas, Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), will install more than 2,000 SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards to enhance the learning environment of more than 100,000 students in 78 schools. This purchase is in addition to the more than 1,200 SMART Board interactive whiteboards already installed in the district. The district began a large-scale installation of the interactive whiteboards in September, which will continue into the new year. SMART is now the preferred interactive whiteboard provider to the three largest school districts in Texas, with more than 450,000 students benefiting from the technology. Three years ago, schools in Dallas Independent School District began installing SMART Board interactive whiteboards, and now the district is home to more than one thousand. Similarly, Houston Independent School District has been installing the SMART product at a steady rate since 2002 and to date has filled nearly 1,300 classrooms with SMART Board interactive whiteboards.
Teachers and administrators at CFISD are excited about the new interactive whiteboards, which have proven to be valuable teaching tools since the district started using them in 2004. CFISD now uses SMART Board interactive whiteboards at every grade level and AirLiner™ wireless slates in many classrooms. SMART products are especially popular in the ESL and bilingual classes due to the large amount of interaction needed to teach language comprehension. Administrators at CFISD believe students and teachers can be best served with technology that supports and enhances the teaching and learning process. The CFISD technology plan is based on using technology to support the delivery of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and to supplement instructional experience with access to technology as suggested by the Texas Education Agency. A key component to the district’s technology plan is the continued professional development of teachers, with each teacher receiving at least two hours of hands-on training on the SMART Board interactive whiteboard.
“SMART products help keep students engaged in learning by providing them with interactive lesson activities that promote teamwork and critical thinking,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District, one of the fastest growing districts in the United States, recognizes that technology in the classroom is a critical part of the learning process and helps prepares today’s students for tomorrow.”
About Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District
Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District aims to provide an instructional program designed for the individual needs, interests and abilities of each student. Over the past three decades, enrollment has soared at CFISD. The district continues to be one of the fastest growing in the nation and is the third-largest in the state of Texas.
