page-120.html
EBR 2019
121 / 126
resiliency in east baton
rouge
parish
schools
when flood waters took over baton
rouge
and surrounding communities, families, friends, and neighbors came together to help one another rebuild. and, ebr came back stronger than ever. while there is still work to be done in some areas, the resiliency that louisianians have shown is admirable. not only have they come together to restore homes and businesses, they have also put forth efforts to make sure our children?s
schools
were able to reopen. after the august 2016 flood damaged
schools
and administrative centers, east baton
rouge
parish
schools
superintendent warren drake vowed to recover stronger than ever. he knew that louisiana depended, particularly, on the recovery of the surrounding technology-based
schools
. prior to the flood, drake announced a strategic plan for technology integration to ?equip, educate, and empower every educator and learner to actively engage in technology-rich learning environments.? with this mission in mind, he deployed a 1:1 laptop program for
students
in grades 5-8. the flooding wasn?t going to keep him from fulfilling that mission. ?preparing all
students
to succeed as citizens, workers, and leaders in a digital world is a priority and a right for
students
in the 21st century. we were not going to let a little water bog us down,? says drake. the
students
eventually returned to their
schools
, where approximately 80 of those
schools
were now connected to bandwidth-rich, 10 gigabits per second, superfast high-speed internet. for the
students
, this meant reliable access to web-based tools and digital resources. for east baton
rouge
parish
schools
, this meant some of the fastest internet speeds in the state. the u.s. department of education?s office of educational technology states, ?the bandwidth required for today?s
students
to curate an electronic portfolio of learning far exceeds what was required to give
students
access to early online tools such as email and static reference materials.? and these materials are more than necessary. national and state standardized testing is now computer- based for grades 5-12, requiring
students
to be proficient on computers and online. faster speeds support the school district?s focus on technology-based learning, including accessible wi-fi, laptops for teachers, and the 1:1 laptop program, which has expanded to include grades 4-12. the unique digital programming across the district is possible because of this advanced technology. ?we have to prepare our
students
for the jobs of tomorrow, and that means technology-rich instruction in our
schools
,? says drake. however, all of this is made possible with the help of cox business louisiana. ?east baton
rouge
parish public school system and its superintendent should be applauded for employing technology to improve performance, drive student achievement, and contribute to teachers? effectiveness,? says leigh king, vice president of cox business louisiana. ?cox business has been delighted to serve east baton
rouge
schools
over the years and looks forward to continuing to meet their bandwidth needs.? despite the changes,
students
in east baton
rouge
parish
schools
have adjusted wonderfully and have adapted and embraced their technology-rich learning environment. p u b l i s h e d b y f a m i l y r e s o u r c e g r o u p , i n c . | e b r s c h o o l s . o r g | e a s t b a t o n r o u g e p a r i s h s c h o o l s y s t e m 1 2 1
programs-services-school-122.html