North Carolina’s fourth largest school district standardizes on SMART
CALGARY, Alberta --- September 17, 2009 --- SMART Technologies announces that after standardizing on SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards, Cumberland County Schools (CCS) in Fayetteville, North Carolina, has witnessed a significant increase in its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) score. In 2005, CCS began extensively implementing SMART Board interactive whiteboards and AirLiner™ wireless slates across all 86 schools in the district. Approximately 1,900 SMART Board interactive whiteboards and more than 1,000 wireless slates have been installed to date, with 400 SMART Board interactive whiteboards still to come. CCS officials pointed to the use of SMART products as a significant contributing factor in the improvement of student outcomes, specifically citing a marked increase in their AYP score. In the 2007–2008 school year, Cumberland County Schools’ AYP was 27.6 percent. In 2008–2009, it jumped to 72.4 percent. This measurement, undertaken as a requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act, is an indication of how well every public school and school district in the United States performs based on standardized testing of K–12 students, elementary and secondary attendance, and grade 12 graduation rates.
With more than 53,000 students and 3,600 teachers, CCS is the 4th largest district in North Carolina and 77th largest in the United States. With so many teachers and students across its 90 schools, administrators were determined to standardize their classroom technology products. As reasons for choosing SMART, CCS cited the company’s training services, superior product quality and ease of use. In the 2008–2009 school year, nearly 1,600 CCS teachers were trained on SMART Board interactive whiteboards and SMART Notebook software, with an additional 38 sessions run in the summer of 2009. With a strong commitment to methodical implementation and professional development, CCS began to see the effect on student outcomes. According to CCS administrators, teachers were also quick to adopt SMART Notebook software because it is so interoperable with existing technology products. SMART products and services support student-centered learning and result in an energized and engaging learning environment. CCS administrators continue to add SMART products to classrooms across the district.
“We believe that a great classroom is interactive,” says Terry Williams, executive director of technology for Cumberland County Schools. “Having SMART products in our classrooms makes them interactive and engaging, inspiring students to learn.”
“Administrators and teachers at Cumberland County Schools recognize that technology in the classroom is vital to the learning process for today’s students,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “With SMART products, students across all grades and subjects can build the skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-intensive, technology-enabled world.”
About Cumberland County Schools
Cumberland County Schools is the 4th largest district in North Carolina and 77th largest district in the United States. As one of the United States’ Top 100 school districts, Cumberland County Schools educates 53,000 students from kindergarten to grade twelve. With 3,600 teachers, it is also the second largest employer in Cumberland County. The district offers a challenging curriculum and a rich array of course options, including classical studies, foreign language communication and technology studies. Learner-centered and accelerated learning programs are also available and the CCS Governed Choice Program allows parents and students to tailor a student’s curriculum to meet their specific needs and interests.
