Hello Students, Families, Staff, and Friends!
I hope your summer has been filled with some amazing adventures!
The Technology Services Department (with help from many others in our District Community) has been hard at work getting “All Things Tech” ready for students and staff to return to school this fall.
Student access to technology, devices, and tech-related learning opportunities is a popular and high-profile topic for parents and families right now. Families across the country (and our community) are asking good questions about screens, personal devices, phones, EdTech, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Please know that the District prioritizes face-to-face, analog learning experiences and is thinking about how and why students access technology in our schools and learning spaces.
This summer, a team of educators from around the District met to discuss student access to technology at all levels. We looked at which devices students use, when they use them, where those devices live during the school day, when devices go home, and what students have access to at each grade level. The outcome of those discussions is a Technology Handbook for Students and Families. The Handbook covers device expectations by grade, including how Chromebooks and iPads are used and stored at the elementary and middle levels; how the District reviews and approves the digital tools teachers use with students; where AI does and does not fit in student learning; a plain-language glossary of the tools your student will use; expectations for District devices over breaks and summer; and the adaptive and assistive technology available to students who need it.
Families will have a seat in these conversations as well. Watch for engagement opportunities this year from your students’ individual schools and from me. Topics for parent and family engagement will include screen time, EdTech, AI, Digital Citizenship, and students' general technology use.
Look for a message from me this August with the handbook launch (after some finishing touches) and some family engagement opportunities.
The Technology Services Department employs four Youth Apprentices for summer and school year service. These high school students are embedded in our department, mentored by the District’s most experienced technicians, and learn what it takes to support an entire district’s technology program. We are incredibly proud of our YAs, of how much they have contributed to the team, and of how excited they are to support teaching and learning in the District. If you are a student entering 10th or 11th grade at Clark Street Community School or Middleton High School and you are interested in becoming a YA for the 2027–2028 school year, please reach out to me with any questions.
Lastly, I want to thank the Technology Services Department Technicians, Engineers, and Youth Apprentices for their amazing work this summer ordering, organizing, preparing, and repairing thousands of systems and devices so that our students and staff are ready for school this fall!
Have a wonderful school year!
Brian Miles
Director of Technology Services
Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District