Dysart Unified School District, Surprise, Arizona

April 1-3, 2012

Student Success in the Southwest

Online registration is closed for this site visit. You can still register on-site!

The Dysart Unified School District is dedicated to serving the needs of all children with high quality educational services, before- and after- school programs, and community education classes. With a student population of 25,000, Dysart is composed of 20 elementary schools, 4 comprehensive high schools, 1 alternative program campus, an early childhood center, and an online high school. Elementary schools include grades K-8, with full day kindergarten available for all students.

Some of the academic highlights include advanced placement, career and technical education, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge Checkpoint Preparatory Academy, as well as gifted and special education programs.

Even with the rough economic climate, Dysart continues to find innovative ways to stay on top of the latest developments in educational technology. Some of the programs and processes Dysart features include:

  • Instructional Growth Teacher at each campus who spend 80% of their time coaching teachers
  • Technology Training Specialists who develop, organize and facilitate ongoing technology professional development and training support for all district employees
  • Innovation Ambassadors at each campus, modeling how to integrate technology and New Century Learning in the classroom
  • Teacher Innovators test driving new technologies to determine if they are easily integrated within our network to deliver desired student outcomes
  • iSchool, Dysart’s online High School, providing rigorous online instruction for students seeking anytime, anyplace instruction
  • iPal our Integrated Data tool providing online access to curriculum maps, dynamic assessment data and professional development opportunities
  • 21 st Century Skills Assessments based on the National Education Technology Standards for both students and staff
  • An Information Technology department staffed with programmers, technicians, and network specialists
  • Special education classrooms supported with interactive boards, online reading instruction for grades 6-12, Tap-It technology for those with multiple disabilities, as well as iPod Touch and iPads in 11 special education settings.

Sunday, April 1

6:30 - 8:30 pm  ◊  Registration and Reception

The Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 9495 West Coyotes Boulevard, Glendale (At Westgate City Center)

Monday...

Monday, April 2

7:00 - 8:00 am  ◊  Registration – Hotel

7:00 - 8:00 am  ◊  Full Breakfast (Renaissance guests only

8:00 am  ◊  Bus departs for School Visits

8:10 am  ◊  Bus departs for School Visits – Tours: Mercury, Rattlers, & Diamondback

(3 schools each; all will visit Valley Vista High School)

  • Alabama Reading Initiative
  • Find out how Dysart’s Student Owned Device Initiative is impacting high school classrooms
  • Discover how students use multiple platforms and programs to help them gain confidence in Foreign Language classes

Mercury Tour – Ashton Ranch and Thompson Ranch Elementary Schools & Valley Vista High School

  • iPads used to increase reading and math fluency
  • Technology integration in physical education class for elementary students
  • Library technology integration and student owned devices
  • Visit a Title 1 school with an A+ Award
  • Smart Table use with kindergarten ELL students

Rattlers Tour – Parkview and Sonoran Heights Elementary Schools & Valley Vista High School

  • Virtual showcase of student learning and authentic products
  • iPod touch devices increasing student achievement of middle level special education students
  • Visit to an Excelling Elementary School
  • SMART Technologies bringing visual images and student interaction into the classroom
  • Technology integration with 3, 5, and 6th grade

Diamondback Tour – Canyon Ridge and Marley Park Elementary Schools & Valley Vista High School

  • Video Conferencing bringing experts into the classroom, connecting with students from around the world and validating student research
  • Witness the creation of authentic projects as they bring meaning to the curriculum
  • Cambridge Academy, an advanced academic program for middle school students utilizing technology to reach a worldwide audience
  • Edomo online student portfolios
  • iPod Touch devices provide stimulating environments and self-reflective learning opportunitie

12:30 - 1:30 pm  ◊  Lunch at Valley Vista High School

1:30 - 3:20 pm  ◊  Breakout Sessions (Topics from multiple areas including: The Governing Board, School Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction, Human Resources, Special Education, Transportation, Information Technology, Business, and Community Education)

3:30 pm  ◊  Buses depart from Valley Vista to the Hotel

4:45 pm  ◊  Buses depart for Evening Event

5:30 - 9:00 pm  ◊  University of Phoenix Stadium Tour and Dinner in the East Club

10:00 pm  ◊  Arrive at hotel

Tuesday...

Tuesday, April 3

7:00 - 8:00 am  ◊  Registration – Hotel
Breakfast (Renaissance guests only)

8:10 am  ◊  Bus Departs for School Visits – Tours: Cardinals, Suns, Coyotes

Cardinals Tour – Dysart High School and Luke Elementary School

  • Edmodo building student online communities and a learning platform for sharing
  • Media Productions, Digital Communications, Automotive, and Photography Career and Technical classes
  • TI navigators and iPads
  • iPod Touch devices increasing special education achievement in the high school
  • Skype to collaborate and critique work in Art class
  • iPod Carts increasing reading fluency

Suns Tour – Shadow Ridge High School, Mountain View Elementary School, Sundown Alternative School

  • Engineering students working on robotics projects
  • Dysart’s signature architecture program with authentic, industry-standard and hands-on computer aided design drafting software and tools
  • Online physical fitness
  • QR codes in the high school library
  • Technology Integration in high school science
  • Math with recording pens at Dysart’s Alternative Education Program
  • iPad use in a self-contained special education classroom
  • Blogging, communication 24/7

Coyotes Tour – Willow Canyon High School and Dysart’s Early Childhood Center

  • International Baccalaureate
  • Phlebotomy
  • iPads in the Audio/Visual technologies classroom
  • Edmodo for student collaboration in Ceramics class
  • TV Broadcasting
  • Assistive Technology communication devices with special education preschool students
  • Promethean Boards and iPad learning centers with preschool students
  • Adapted furniture, toys and equipment

12:30 - 2:30 pm  ◊  Lunch at Dysart Support Facility

2:35 pm  ◊  Buses return to hotel


NSBA thanks Cable in the Classroom for its continuing support of the Technology Leadership Network Site Visits.

Cable in the ClassroomFor the eighth consecutive year, Cable in the Classroom (CIC), the national education foundation of the U.S. cable industry, is proud to be the only national partner and sponsor of this important initiative. Working in partnership with, and on behalf of, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and our cable industry partners, CIC advocates for digital citizenship and the visionary, sensible and effective use of media in homes, schools, and communities. Since 1989, through CIC, local cable companies have been providing complimentary connections to schools, and cable programmers have offered quality educational programming. CIC enables educators to access the best of cable’s video and web content.