The Future Is Not What It Used to Be


Update 9/25/18: Our Technology Plan is now posted https://www.nhp-gcp.org/site/default.aspx?DomainID=16


Before reading this piece, please watch the "Did you know" video.
Back in August 2017, I shared this video with Jim Svendsen, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology.  In October 2017, he then played it for the Technology Advisory Committee (TAC), a group of thirty-two stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, and parents who met monthly over the course of the 2017-18 school year.

TAC was asked to answer the following question, which was recorded and compiled through Mentimeter and displayed via Samrtboard:


The larger words represent the words that were entered most frequently by the group, meaning they were seen as most important.

Their assignment was then to create a vision statement that would reflect their words and shape the plans for the implementation of technology in our district. With its content in mind, and through a series of discussions, the committee created the following Technology Vision Statement:
The New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District dedicates themselves to cultivating the digital citizenship, foundational technology, academic skills and innovation of our students in order to serve a future society whose members collaborate and contribute to an ever-changing digital world.
This process and vision statement was shared with the entire faculty at one of our professional development sessions on April 23, 2018.

Thanks to a supportive community, our budget passed in May, and here is a sample of what our children will be experiencing this year:
  • iPads in fourth grade. Each fifth and sixth grade class has five ipads. Fourth grade will now have five iPads per class.
  • Technology Integration Specialist. One of our veteran teachers, Mrs. Scamell, will be in a new role as Technology Integration Specialist, supporting our teachers' learning and use of Google G Suite through coaching and professional development sessions. You can learn more about G Suite here: G Suite
  • Project Lead the Way. This is an exciting, problem-solving, curiosity- and creativity- driven, hands-on curriculum that will be taught during Science specials by Mr. Giurlanda for half of a year in grades 1-6.  Watch this video to see the program in action and learn more:




  • Chromebooks. There will be a cart of 30 Chromebooks in each library media center. 
  • Classroom technology: Grades 3-6 will have access to a cart of Chromebooks shared between every two classes.
  • Coding: For half of the year during the Science special, grades  1-6 will be taught Coding by Mrs. Holtzkamp through programs such as Hour of Code and ScratchEd. You can learn more about ScratchEd, a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab here:





As Yogi Berra once said, "The future ain't what it used to be." Our goal is to provide an education that will empower our students with the knowledge and skills they need to live productive and happy lives. Our newest challenge is to prepare our schools for jobs that have not even been invented yet. We've got this!

Please keep an eye out for our Technology Plan. Once the TAC reviews it in September, we will share it with the faculty and post it on the website for the community.

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