Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Whittier Tech outlines curriculum shifts, Early College growth and expanded 1:1 device program
Summary
Dr. Kelly Fay presented curriculum and program updates including Read 180, the expansion of the Early College program (158 students enrolled), loss of DEC STEM AP grant next year, and new full-year financial literacy elective; the IT director described deployment of new iPads with Apple Pencils and network upgrades.
Whittier Regional Vocational Technical administrators updated the school committee on academic programming and technology deployments at Whittier Tech.
Dr. Kelly Fay, coordinator of curriculum and staff development, highlighted curricular changes: the school replaced Lexia with Read 180 to support high-school reading intervention; the math curriculum is being aligned with SkillsUSA and employability standards; science teaching is emphasizing phenomenon-based learning; and history courses are embedding civic-engagement activities. Dr. Fay said the Early College program is now in its third year of state designation and 158 students are enrolled across composition courses, with Early College students transported to the college campus to gain a "real college experience." She said the DEC STEM AP grant that subsidized free AP courses and materials is ending this year and that the district is evaluating how to continue offerings.
Dr. Fay also described new electives, including a full-year financial literacy and management course, and continued social-emotional learning and MTSS work supported by a state grant.
The director of technology reported Whittier Tech operates a 1:1 device program with approximately 2,300 managed devices. The district has rolled out iPad Air devices to students with protective cases, keyboards, Apple Pencils for note-taking, and AppleCare coverage; Early College students receive Chromebooks that are maintained and reissued year to year. The technology team has implemented Palo Alto firewalls, Aruba networking upgrades, redundant fiber paths, a VPN for remote support, and Mosyle mobile device management to filter inappropriate content. The director said the network upgrades improve redundancy and speed and that planned AR/VR pilots and a new school app are forthcoming.
Committee members asked about monitoring and filtering; the director said keyword-based filters are active and block access to certain sites (for example, searches on firearms-related keywords are blocked). Members also asked about staffing for Early College; Dr. Fay said the district hired a full-time Early College facilitator to manage scheduling and articulation agreements so classroom teachers are not required to teach those college courses as part of their FTE.
