The Kirkwood School District community has been a leader in supporting educational technology for many years, approving a dedicated technology fund nearly 25 years ago to support student learning. This forward-thinking commitment set a tone of high expectations, putting funds in place to eventually equip classrooms and labs with then - innovative tools for learning – video monitors and desktop computers, followed by laptop carts and interactive digital projectors. Kirkwood built on these successes in 2012, investing in our students with the purchase of one-to-one iPad minis as a personalized learning tool. Our shift to 1:1 mobile devices ensured that every student had equitable access and opportunities through technology, both at school and at home.

We live in a world that is changing rapidly and will likely reinvent itself several times during the lives of our students. Nearly every member of next year’s senior class was born in the 21st century, so embracing “21st century skills” is not an option. It’s their only reality. Recent estimates suggest 65% of kindergartners will someday work in careers that have yet to be invented, and many are already doing things – in and out of school – that previous generations would have thought not possible.
We have a responsibility, even an obligation, to teach our kids for today and so they are successful in their tomorrow.